Jamie Mitchell became the WBA bantamweight title-holder Saturday afternoon in England after beating former champion Shannon Courtenay by majority decision.
It was a fight filled with drama before either participant stepped into the ring. Courtenay lost the title on the scales Friday after missing the 118-pound weight limit by 2.5 pounds — something she said occurred due to her menstrual cycle unexpectedly starting.
In the ring on Saturday, the 36-year-old Mitchell (7-0-2, 4 KO) won the fight 96-94, 97-93 while the third judge scored the fight 95-95 to give her the victory over Courtenay (7-2, 3 KO).
“It sounds very great. It sounds amazing. It feels great,” Mitchell said after the fight, via the Matchroom YouTube channel. “I can’t show too much emotion because I knew I was going to win the fight when I signed the contract.”
Mitchell said even though she won, she didn’t agree with the judge’s scoring — saying she felt the fight was not as close as they had it on the scorecards. Meanwhile, Courtenay said after the fight, according to The Mirror, that “I don’t see how I lost, but I have to pay respect to her.”
She added that she would like a rematch to reclaim her belt. Mitchell said after the fight that she would grant Courtenay a rematch.
Courtenay’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said in a post-fight news conference posted on YouTube that Courtenay would be back. “But she’s got to get her knee looked at, she’s got to get her mind right, she’s got to improve,” Hearn said. “If she fights like that again against Jamie Mitchell, she won’t beat her.”