Lauren Price defended her unified welterweight world title against Stefani Pineiro Aquino in Cardiff.
Olympic gold medalist Price retained his WBA, IBF and WBC titles by unanimous decision, but had to overcome a tough battle with Pineiro to get the win.
With Price marked up and bloodied, she won a decision of 98-92 on two cards and 99-91 on one card, immediately setting up a showdown with Claressa Shields.
Shields, like Price, is an Olympic gold medalist and an undisputed multi-division champion as a professional.
The American star is the current undisputed heavyweight champion of women’s boxing, but is willing to drop weight to fight Price.
“If you want to get up to 160 pounds, you and I can make it happen,” Shields told Price.
“I have one more fight left, so I can fight at the end of the year.”
Lauren Price suffered bleeding from the mouth and a cut to her eyebrow.
Price responded, “We both need dance partners. We both have Olympic gold medals, so let’s do it!”
“I want to have the best fight.”
In Cardiff, Price boxed for the first time since beating Natasha Jonas at the Royal Albert Hall more than a year ago to become a three-belt champion.
She was returning to Cardiff for the first time since winning her first world title there in 2024, and Price received a huge welcome as she entered.
Price, who met the fellow southpaw in Pineiro, came out on the ball of his foot and delivered a quick jab. However, Pineiro landed a right hook on her and caught her with the blow.
In a competitive opening game, Pineiro homered with an isolated but eye-catching shot.
In the second round, Price lined up and planted a long left southpaw. Price’s lead hook popped up and the champion started landing combinations. Pineiro continued to advance, but Price threw quick punches as the Puerto Rican closed in.
Pineiro landed a hard right and the two exchanged blows. Price spun with a right hook. Price landed some big hits just at the end of the third round to reaffirm his authority.
This hurt the Puerto Rican, but Pineiro fought back in the fourth round. She chased Price again in the next round, causing him to bleed from the mouth.
Price won by unanimous decision, but Pineiro was still in trouble.
Compounding Price’s problems was a cut above her right eyebrow. Bloodied and bruised, Price needed to regain his composure.
The champion threw potshots and finished the seventh round with another flurry of punches.
In the eighth round, her work was classy and sharp. Price showed off his footwork and Pineiro followed, falling short.
But Pineiro was undaunted. She continued to make threats. Pineiro attacks and Price hits a pinpoint right hook. The Puerto Rican had a long reach and still managed to close the lead to the champion.
In the final round, Price chose the right time to circle and throw, landing a southpaw left on Pineiro that netted him two solid points before the final bell rang.
Price told the BBC: “I felt my lips part immediately after the head collision. But you know, that’s something I’ve never experienced before and that’s part of professional boxing.”
“I think I dug deep and ran into it. I had a great corner in the back. I just want to give credit to my opponent. It was a match that I had to take to defend my belt. Obviously, I hadn’t been in the ring in a year, and it was very tough coming into this match, but credit to my opponent. She’s a tough girl and she tested me.”
Watch Caroline Dubois v Terry Harper and Ellie Scotney v Mayeli Flores live on Sky Sports from 7pm on Sunday.
