Lauren Price wants to ‘create greatness’ when she takes on Jessica McCaskill for world title
Lauren Price says she hopes to “put Wales on the map and bring big nights back to Cardiff” as she prepares for her homecoming WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine welterweight world titles fight against Jessica McCaskill on Saturday May 11.
So far in her short professional career Lauren Price has looked imperious.
An Olympic gold medallist at the Tokyo Games, the Welsh star has only boxed six times since turning pro but has won every round she’s contested.
Price became the inaugural women’s British champion last year with her shutout victory over Kirstie Bavington.
But on May 11 she will take a huge step up in class when she challenges Jessica McCaskill for the WBA welterweight world title.
McCaskill was formerly an undisputed champion who has never lost a decision at 147lbs.
But Price remains supremely confident.
“They all say they’re going to come and take my head off, it’s a different game when they’re in there with me.” She said “When it gets tough in those rounds, I’ll get through them.
“She probably is going to ask questions of me. It’s going to be my toughest fight. I know that and I respect that but I still believe that I’m the better boxer.
“I can’t see her outboxing me in any way. But that’s her game, to make it messy and rough,” Price added.
“If anything it’s better for me, her charging at me and me picking my shots and going from there.”
Although her professional experience might be limited, Price is convinced her amateur background, in which she boxed and beat all the best opponents across the globe to win Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth Games gold medals, has prepared her for this moment.
“Every style I’ve come across in the amateurs has obviously set me up for fights like this,” Price said. “I’m at my peak. I’m just ready for it. She’s been around, she’s done it.
“I respect her as well for taking the fight for starters. I called a lot of the champions out and I didn’t really get much back.
“It’s a good fight, a fight I believe I’m ready for and I’m going to win.”
The opportunity is all the more important to her as it will be a homecoming fight – her first bout in Wales in a decade.
“A big thing I haven’t experienced yet is fighting at home with a home crowd. But obviously I’m going to enjoy that as much as possible, soak it all in, take in the atmosphere and then when I’m in the ring, I’ve got to switch on and get down to business,” she said.
“That was one of the things I wanted to do, was headline in Wales and put Wales on the map and bring big nights back to Cardiff.”
Price’s ambitions really are just beginning.
“We’ve seen what Katie Taylor’s done for Ireland and I want to do the same for Wales,” she said.
“I want to be involved in big fights. I want to fight in Cardiff. I want to create that legacy. I want to go on for a few years and become a multi-weight world champion and create greatness.”
