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A year ago, on a historic night for boxing when an all-women card of fights was held at the Royal Albert Hall last March, Lauren Price produced an imperious headline performance which should have led to a series of even more prestigious bouts. Her dominant display in outclassing the venerable Natasha Jonas appeared to be the ideal launching for a new stage of Price’s career as the IBF and WBC world welterweight champion.
But when she finally steps back into the ring on Saturday night in Cardiff to defend her titles against Stephanie Piñeiro Aquino, the little-known Puerto Rican challenger, almost 13 months will have passed since that high point. Only frustration and inertia have followed.
“Oh, 100%,” Price says when asked if her exasperating absence offers an insight into the enduring mess of boxing politics. “People on the outside don’t understand but sometimes it comes down to your promoter, if they want to put you on, if the money’s right, if the contracts are in place and legal issues are sorted out. There are a lot of things in the background.”
Price became Olympic champion in Tokyo in 2021 but since turning pro more than three-and-a-half years ago she has had just nine fights. She did not lose a single round in her first eight contests, and nearly completed a shutout against Jonas. But it’s been difficult for Britain’s best female fighter to find decent opposition.
“It’s especially hard in women’s boxing,” Price says, “because at the start of my career I got myself in that position where I fought Jessica McCaskill [the respected American whom Price beat in May 2024 to win a version of the world title]. I was fast-tracked and that was my seventh fight and I became world champion. You’re then in a position where the people wanting to fight you are asking for lots of money so your promoters are like: ‘Oh, that fight’s not going to work.’
“Or if you want to fight for another belt that takes time and a conversation and it’s not easy. Obviously you love to be active, but you’ve got to realise that you’re probably only going to get a payday once or twice a year. It is hard but it’s part of the game – and because the pool of women boxers is small you see fighters moving up and down in weight.”
Price’s situation was complicated by the fact that her promoters, Boxxer, were not offered a new contract by Sky when their four-year deal expired last June. Boxxer and their founder, Ben Shalom, were in serious financial trouble as they tried to salvage the company’s future. Trapped in a seemingly endless limbo, Price relied on Rob McCracken, her trainer since she was an amateur and a man used to the chaos of boxing politics.
“The whole year was very frustrating,” Price says, “because I was in the gym in Sheffield, just ticking over. Everything was out of my control in terms of contracts and Rob said we can’t really rush into anything. I listened because I trust Rob and he always looks after me.”
Price explains that she rarely deals with Shalom. “It’s an odd one,” the 31-year-old says, “because Rob has always dealt with John Wischhusen [the veteran matchmaker employed by Shalom to liaise with Sky and the boxers in an arrangement which has since soured and ended up in court]. Obviously John’s not in the picture any more and we’re dealing with a guy at Boxxer called Baz Arjo. Baz seems to have more of a business head – so we don’t really deal with Ben.”
What is the status of her current contract with Boxxer? “I’ve got three fights left but I’ve said to them I’m the kind of person that, if they back me and do a good job, I’ll spend my whole career with them. I’m not one of these people who wants to move madly. But, like Rob says, you need to know your worth and the main thing is building me up in Wales. I want to win as much money as I can, build a legacy for boxing in Wales and get out safe. But the bigger arenas and stadiums we can fight in, the better.”
Price fights Piñeiro Aquino at the Cardiff Arena, which can hold just over 7,000 spectators, but the real boost for her is that Boxxer’s promotions are now being screened by the BBC. Saturday’s world title bout will be on BBC Two and she believes terrestrial television will strengthen her appeal. “It’s great. The BBC have done a lot with me over the years, through the Olympics, and the older generation, who might not have Sky, can see me on a mainstream channel.”
There have been multiple examples in men’s boxing of seemingly obscure Puerto Rican or Mexican fighters shocking their more vaunted British rivals with a mix of hard-bitten skill and tenacity. Price knows little about Piñeiro Aquino, whose 10-0 record has been built entirely in Puerto Rico against local rivals, but she says: “I think she’s quite dangerous. It’s hard to judge how good she is because her Puerto Rican opponents haven’t been high-standard girls or they’ve been two weight classes below. It looks like she is a toe-to-toe swinger. She’s big, tall, game and tough – but nothing I haven’t faced before.
“You’ve always got to adapt and that’s the great thing about amateur boxing where you spend years travelling the world and come across different styles. But the one thing I’ve realised about the pros is you have got to be able to bite down on your gumshield and have a fight sometimes. You’re doing 10 rounds and you can’t allow someone to walk you down.”
It will be a seismic shock if Price doesn’t win comfortably and, after such a long stretch outside the ring, she can’t stop herself hinting that her career is about to be transformed. She grins when I ask if she is expecting to face Claressa Shields – the brash and brilliant American who is currently the best female fighter in the world. “Without me saying yes,” Price suggests as her smile widens, “I think you’re on the right page.”
Shields’s perfect 18-0 record featured many world title bouts at middleweight. But she hasn’t fought in the 160lb division for almost three years having moved up to light-heavyweight before becoming the undisputed world heavyweight champion. Before her most recent contest six weeks ago, when she easily retained all four heavyweight belts, Shields scaled 174lbs. At this Friday’s weigh-in, Price will make the 147lb limit.
It is an illustration of the scarcity of genuine rivals for both women that Shields and Price, despite being separated by 27 pounds, are so keen to fight each other. “There have been talks about a fight at 160 and obviously I said yes,” Price says. “There are lots of conversations to have but they will happen sooner rather than later. Rob is dealing with it all and he has put forward 160 as the weight but we might go a little higher.
“We both definitely want the fight. If there’s the right money, and maybe a belt on the line, Shields will fight anyone. I’d love to fight against her because she’s a great athlete, a fantastic boxer, but also one I’m confident I can derail. I have the skills to do that and the story is great as well. She’s a double Olympic champion [winning gold at middleweight in 2012 and 2016] and I’m an Olympic champion at the same weight.”
Is Shields willing to fight her in Cardiff? “I think the plan is for me to go to America first, and then come to Wales. Maybe we can have a trilogy. I’d love that. But, in pro boxing, anything can happen.”
Before then it is more certain that Price will get married. “After the Jonas fight last year, on 7 March, I popped the question and Carla and I got engaged on 19 April in Wales. She’s been in my life a really long time because I’ve known her since we were in the same school. She’s two years younger but she’s a good girl. Carla’s got her own business, caring for old people in terms of going to their homes, and she’s very driven. She’s thriving and it’s nice to be with someone who is not part of boxing – so when I come home it’s not just boxing, boxing, boxing.”
Is Carla anxious whenever Price ducks through the ropes? “Yes, she’ll get nervous on fight night. That’s normal. But even when I’m making weight and I can be a bit grouchy and tired, she understands. She also knows that I have to be really focused because it’s a short career so we won’t have a honeymoon until the end of the year. But I fight on 4 April and then we’re getting married on 30 May in Abergavenny, half an hour from our house. So I’ve got time to get over the fight and I’m really looking forward to the wedding. We’ll have around 110 people in the day and a few more at night. It’s not massive – just nice.”
Price has told me before how her alcoholic parents gave her up when she was a baby – but how lucky she feels to have been brought up by her adoptive grandparents. Her nan is still alive and Price visits her in Wales whenever she is not training in Sheffield. “Nan is doing OK but of course she’ll be nervous all week. She won’t watch the fight on TV, because she finds it too hard, so she’ll wait for a call from my auntie and then she’ll be able to have her cup of tea and a KitKat to celebrate.
“There’s nothing really to say about my biological parents. I don’t think about them. My father’s not here and when he passed away I was fine. I lived with my nan and grandad since I was three days old.”
Has her mother tried to contact her? “No, she’s not very well. She’s in a mental [institution]. I prefer to think about my amazing grandparents who took me in, loved me, and told me that no dream I have is silly. I’m grateful to have been brought up with love. My nan is such a soft soul and I’m also so grateful she’s still in my life.”
After the frustration of the past 13 months, 2026 could be a defining year for Price both personally and professionally. “I believe that,” she says. “It’s going to be a busy year and let’s get the ball rolling with a good win on 4 April and climb the ladder from there. I’m just happy the fight’s happening. You know how hard it is when there’s no date. But now, with the wedding and maybe three fights this year, it’s so much better.”
