Natasha Jonas trainer Joe Gallagher condemns 'disrespectful' Lauren Price face-off snub

Natasha Jonas' trainer has condemned Lauren Price for snubbing a face-off planned for Tuesday morning.

Jonas and Price will fight to unify the WBC, IBF and WBA welterweight world championships at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday, live on Sky Sports.

They were due to face-off at the Albert Hall to kick off fight week and Joe Gallagher, who trains Jonas, criticised the WBA champion for not appearing as expected.

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"You start fight week on a huge event, whether it be [Anthony] Joshua-Daniel Dubois or whoever, that's just how it is. We all meet and they have the face-off and it starts fight week," Gallagher told Sky Sports.

"We came down last night to be here for this morning. We did the Board check weigh this morning and then at half 10 we were told we're not doing that [face-off] now. Why not?

"Lauren, she's new to the sport but she's got very experienced people around her who have been involved in big fights and understand what fight week's all about.

"I just thought that was just a huge smack of disrespect really for not making the effort to come down there."

He added: "A bit disrespectful to Tasha and there's a lot of people that have been disrespectful to Natasha in the build up to it. Certain press, certain media, certain things."

Gallagher also queried whether Price could be battling to make weight for the fight.

He suggested: "The only other reason [for not appearing at the face-off could be] that she's struggling to make weight and stayed in Sheffield to burn weight off.

"In the amateurs she [Price] boxed at 75 kilos. She's a 75-kilo girl coming down to 67. When Natasha started as a pro at 130lbs, [she then went to] 135lbs, 154lbs and walks around at 150.

"I really do [think Price is struggling]. When they both get in the ring, I'm sure you'll see some size difference.

"It's a huge fight, not just for the two girls but for women's sport and women's boxing and the spectacle of it at a prestigious location, the Royal Albert Hall. On Friday night it's a massive event."

Price shrugged off the suggestion that any disrespect was intended.

"I was told to get here at 4pm because I had a check weigh-in at 9.30am in the morning [in Sheffield] so I was never going to make 11am. I got told to get here at 4pm and that's what I done. And that's it," Price told Sky Sports.

"I think that there's a communication breakdown somewhere and it's not on my end."

She also dismissed the idea that she was struggling to make the weight. "That's like me saying, 'is Jonas a welterweight?'" she said, alluding to Jonas' professional success at super-welterweight, where she has also been a unified world champion.

"Do I look like a middleweight?" Price continued. "Definitely not. I always if anything had to put weight on to make sure I was over the lowest limit [as an amateur]."

Watch Natasha Jonas fight Lauren Price at the Royal Albert Hall live on Sky Sports on Friday March 7.

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Natasha Jonas trainer Joe Gallagher condemns 'disrespectful' Lauren Price face-off snub