McCaskill vs Price Predictions: Lauren will rule the world

Olympic gold medalist Lauren Price will fight for her first world title as a pro as she takes on WBA welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill. The Utilita Arena in Cardiff will stage the showdown on Saturday, May 11. Coverage comes from Sky Sports Action. Here are my McCaskill vs Price predictions ahead of an excellent 147-pound match-up.

Success follows Newport’s Price around wherever she goes. As a kickboxer she was the youngest competitor ever at a British Championships, aged just 13. Price would go on to become a four-time world champion and six-time European champion in the discipline.

As a footballer for Cardiff City, Price won the club’s Player of the Year award, the Welsh FA’s Club Player of the Year award and helped her side to lift the Welsh Premier League trophy. Her contributions would also earn her two caps for the national team.

It was at this point that boxing took priority for this sporting polymath. Seven years on from hanging up her football boots, Price had completed the full set of amateur honours. Gold medals from the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World and European Championships had been secured. There was only one world left to conquer: the professional ranks.

Price’s pro campaign has featured the same Midas touch the 29-year-old has applied to all her sporting endeavours. An unbeaten record of 6-0. A trailblazing victory over Kirstie Bavington which saw her become the first female British champion ever crowned. 

Now Price takes on the world as she faces one of the modern greats. The proliferation of belts in modern boxing means some fighters take the path of least resistance, particularly when fighting for their first world title. But Price faces off with a modern legend of the sport in WBA and The Ring welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill.

“CasKILLA’ is the lineal and true champion at 147 pounds. While she is down to just a single sanctioning body title, she was the undisputed champion. McCaskill never lost those WBC, IBF and WBO titles in the ring, but rather to boxing’s odious politics. Make no mistake, the American is the woman to beat in this division.

McCaskill has never lost at welterweight. Her first career defeats came at lightweight, the latter in a title shot against the great Katie Taylor. The St Louis native also dropped a decision to then-undisputed super lightweight queen Chantelle Cameron in 2022. That defeat in particular, coupled with McCaskill now being 39, has led many to see her as ripe for the taking.

But she remains unbeaten at welterweight. Sandy Ryan tested her limits last September, with their fight ending in a split draw. Many felt the Brit had done enough to pip the American in that one, adding to the prevailing theory that McCaskill is waning.

McCaskill is undeniably a modern great. Her resume includes titles at two weights, the undisputed crown at welter and wins over legends like Cecilia Braekhus. But she is winless in her last two fights and edging towards 40 years of age, a period of decline for all but the most anomalous fighters. Is Price getting hold of McCaskill at the right time?

I feel like she is. The Welsh star has looked vibrant, aggressive and poised in her six pro outings. Opponents have been outboxed and overwhelmed as Price has climbed the ranks. The gifted and experienced McCaskill will put up more of a challenge than the usual Price fare. But she too shall succumb.

My pick is Price to win via decision at 1/3. I feel like McCaskill is being somewhat underestimated based on recent results. She will give Price a thorough test here. The greatest of her professional career. But ultimately I feel like the Welsh phenom will complete a journey that has taken in trophies and medals across multiple sports by lifting a boxing world title for the first time.

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