Lauren Price will fight on the BBC this Saturday and for the first time since her amateur days.
Wales’ Price, the unified world women’s welterweight champion, is unbeaten at 9-0 (2 KOs) and was last seen on the BBC fighting when she won Olympic gold in Tokyo 2020.
Promoted by Boxxer’s Ben Shalom since her pro debut, Price has decided to stay with the promotional outfit that signed with the national broadcaster BBC after its deal with Sky Sports was not extended.
Despite having other offers to move on, Price has stayed with Boxxer and on Saturday at Cardiff’s International Arena will take on Puerto Rico’s undefeated Stephanie Pineiro Aquino.
“I think it’s great, in terms of, like, eyes on you and building you into a star,” Price told BoxingScene of being on the BBC. “I think seeing the stats on some of the other shows, with over a million views and obviously linking up with DAZN [which also shows Boxxer bills] as well, the more platforms are better. But I’m excited to be on BBC just because they followed my whole journey, as well, through the Olympics. It’s great.”
Price has not fought since last April, when she defeated Natasha Jonas in London. There was speculation that she might face Mikaela Mayer, and there were talks, but they amounted to nothing.
Price admits it has been frustrating being out of the ring since.
“Yeah, it has been, but I’ve kind of put that to bed now,” she added. “It was, like, out of my control in a certain sense last year. My main focus now is, obviously, get the ball rolling April the 4th. I want to be active this year. I’d love to get three fights in before February next year, so definitely, like, I want to just move on, get momentum behind me and keep going.”
Price recognizes the need to stay busy, firstly from a commercial standpoint and secondly to stay sharp. She has been in the gym all year but wanted to be busier.
“Obviously, coming off that win at Albert Hall [against Jonas] would make great sense,” she said. “Obviously, me coming back off that, going to Cardiff in a big fight [would have been ideal], but like I said, I can’t dwell on that now. It’s about this year, and I like to be active, I like to be boxing. But I’m the kind of fighter who’s always in the gym anyway, so I’ve been in camp for a long time, getting the rounds in and stuff. I’m an experienced fighter. I’ve been in there a million times, so regardless wherever I’ve been out of the ring a year, I love to put on a show. I had a bit of time off after the Jonas fight, went to Mexico, got engaged, had a bit of time off, in and out, as well, like ticking over. But I’ve been back in Sheffield [where she trains] probably since September.”
When she’s there, Monday through Friday, she will have occasional walks around Meadowhall shopping center, go for a Starbucks and take a walk. There are a few scenic spots she likes to switch off around a lake while enjoying her skinny latte with a few toffee drops in for the flavor.
Promoter Shalom said he had been faced with the choice of holding on to one of his top female stars, Price or Caroline Dubois, and he opted to stay with Price.
“Caroline’s obviously a great fighter, but I just think, obviously, with my Welsh background as well and the fans, it makes sense,” Price said. “Obviously, unified world champion, the BBC have always backed me since the Olympics. BBC Wales have been great with me as well, but yes, all good.”
Does she appreciate the show of faith in her?
“Well, I’ve invested a lot of faith in him as well because I’ve stayed with him,” Price countered. “So that’s the way I look at it, in terms of we’ve both got to obviously work together. It’s a partnership, and like I’ve said, I’m the type of fighter that you treat me well, all I can do is do what I do best in training and put a show on and perform and win in the ring. All the other stuff about, like, building me up and turning me into a star and stuff like that, that’s for Ben and Boxxer to do, and it’s a partnership. “We’ve got to work together and I’ve said to him, ‘You do a good job with me, you deliver this year, like I’ve said, I've got no questions, I’ll stay with you my whole career.’ Obviously, money being right and looking after me, then I’m a decent person and I’ll do that. Yeah, I’ve had offers and if I’m honest, one of the offers was great, as well, with someone else. But my main focus is, I want to be on a TV platform. I think BBC is massive, and Boxxer has done a great job so far, so I’ve got faith in them.”
Price is trained by Robert McCracken, who is assisted in the Sheffield camp by former WBC super middleweight titleholder Richie Woodhall.
McCracken is one who stays away from the media, despite having worked with – among many good fighters – Anthony Joshua and Carl Froch.
“I don’t think he’s underrated,” Price said. “He’s a great guy, and I think he’s great in terms of he doesn’t like the camera, because at the end of the day it’s not really about the coaches – it’s about the boxer. And for him, he’s a massive part of my career and he’s someone who I trust in pro boxing. There’s very little people I trust, and everything I’ve got, I go with him, too.”
Thus far, they have been impeccable. Price is one of many who doesn’t think she has lost a round as a pro.
“I wouldn’t say I had, but one judge gave Jonas three rounds, which I obviously don’t really see,” she said. “But, yeah, it’s been quite cool so far.”
And she enjoys her work. Now it is about taking her career to the next level.
“I love what I do. I feel like it is a job now, and someone asked me this the other day: How do you keep motivated and keep going?” she said. “And I think over time it’s probably changed. For so long, I wanted that Olympic gold medal, but I wanted to go to the Olympics so bad, since the age of 8. And then once the Olympics was done, it changed. And even though I won a gold medal, I’d come back and I was a bit depressed because for so long I wanted it, even though I’d done it and I couldn’t have done any better. Like, I won the Olympic gold medal. It was like, it’s done now and it was a dream of mine for so long. But then I think, obviously, with me turning pro, it was another angle, and what keeps me motivated is being away from my family, my loved ones. I want to do Wales proud. And that’s why I give my all to this sport.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
