Nothing was settled in the main event of the second Fight Camp card Friday night in Essex, England.
Junior lightweight titleholder Terri Harper, a rising star, and Natasha Jonas fought to an entertaining 10-round draw without spectators in the garden of the Matchroom Boxing offices.
One judge had it 96-94 for Harper, the second 96-95 for Jones and the third 95-95. Thus, Harper retained her belt.
Jonas (9-1-1, 7 KOs) was a significant underdog but didn’t fight like it, giving as much as she took in a back-and-forth battle that could’ve gone either way.
And the 2012 Olympian did it even though she suffered a cut above her right eye in the second round and is 13 years Harper’s senior. Jonas is 36, Harper 23.
Harper had expected to break down Jonas but her countrywoman proved to be resilient.
“I caught her with some good shots, she caught me with some,” Harper said. “That’s boxing. I’m disappointed, but I’ve got to think, I’m 23 years old, I had 16 amateur fights. This was a big night.
“I just want to thank Tasha for an excellent fight. This was a big learning fight for me, and I’ll be back in the gym soon.”
Jonas lost in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Londaon Games to eventual gold medalist Katie Taylor.
In other fights on the card, Anthony Fowler (13-1, 10 KOs) stopped Adam Harper (9-2, 0 KOs) in seven rounds in a scheduled 10-round middleweight fight; Hopey Price (3-0, 1 KOs) easily outpointed Jonny Phillips (5-5, 2 KOs) in a six-round junior lightweight bout; and Chris Billam-Smith (11-1, 10 KOs) knocked out Nathan Thorley (14-1, 6 KOs) in the second round to retain the Commonweather cruiserweight title.