RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA -- The typical small talk, about how well fight camp is going, doesn't last long. IBF/WBC welterweight champion Natasha Jonas has a world title unification bout two weeks Friday, but finds herself in the Saudi capital again to support a teammate - this time Mohammed Alakel - rounding out another training camp as she continues a legacy-enhancing phase of her career.

A rematch with WBO welterweight champion Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) was mooted but didn't materialise and having outpointed Ivana Habazin to add WBC gold on December 14, the Scouser went straight into another training block in preparation for Olympic gold medallist Lauren Price (8-0, 2 KOs), who she'll face in BOXXER's all-women's card on March 7 at London's Royal Albert Hall.

The 40-year-old southpaw, no stranger to Riyadh herself after supporting cruiserweight Jack Massey (22-3, 12 KOs) in his unsuccessful world title attempt against Jai Opetaia last October, is back for a change of scenery before another marquee matchup where she's the pre-fight betting underdog.

"Just get some training in and vitamin D, absorb the atmosphere, help Mo out in his corner," she tells The Ring when asked about why we're meeting here, rather than back closer to home comforts some 3,100 miles away.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority and Riyadh Season head, wants to see the super-featherweight stay active and box every other month in 2025 as he continues building his profile and developing skills not afforded to him in the amateur ranks.

Having banked 10 rounds' experience against Jesus Gonzalez and Joshua Ocampo as part of the undercard for the last two Saudi shows, Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 1 and Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2, he'll kick off his year against 53-fight pro Engel Gomez - who boxed Royston Barney-Smith and Cameron Vuong in the latter part of 2023.

Great things are expected from both Queensberry's rising super-featherweight Barney-Smith (13-0, 7 KOs) and Matchroom-backed lightweight Vuong (7-0, 3 KOs) but both have the added benefit of invaluable time as amateurs to help perfect their craft at a much faster rate than the 2004-born Saudi national.

The 25-year-old Nicaraguan (8-42-3, 4 KOs) is known to British observers given how he's featured heavily across the country since late 2021 but Alakel, who dropped Ocampo in round two en route to another decision victory, will fancy his chances of an even more polished performance third time around.

Jonas believes the benefit of perspective and invaluable experience across all levels has given Alakel a greater understanding of what it takes to be among the world's very best, something compatriot and welterweight hopeful Ziyad Almaayouf (6-0-1, 1 KO) spoke passionately about on behalf of budding Saudi athletes at last month's maiden press conference.

"I mean you just have to look at his last two performances, this is a kid who hasn't had more than four amateur bouts.

When he first came in, he said himself in the car on the way over here, was a little wet behind the ears and didn't understand what it took - little overconfident for his skill ability - but he's worked hard, trained alongside Josh Holmes, sparring Paul Butler and when you're doing that, you'll improve. His skills and fitness are going up, Roberto Duran has been working with him on inside work in the last fortnight, when you've got that and Joe obviously aswell, that knowledge and depth, you can delve into different experiences and he loves input from everyone."

Holmes (16-0, 6 KOs) won the vacant English super-featherweight title with a fourth-round stoppage against Lewis Wood in his last outing on November 16, while former two-time bantamweight world champion Butler (36-3, 17 KOs) has more than a dozen years' pro experience to share.

A casual namedrop of Duran doesn't go unnoticed either, who began his illustrious career spanning five decades and eight weight divisions at super-featherweight as a teenager in 1968.

On being part of a tightly-knit support team, headed by Ring Magazine's 2015 Trainer of the Year Joe Gallagher, Jonas said: "Boxing can be a very individual sport, lonely at times, but when we're in the gym we train as a group and unit, a team.

It's good that your team come to support you, sometimes there are a million voices in the crowd but you pick up on the familiar ones - it's good to be there - maybe it's the Scouse accent or because I'm loud, but to hear that and sometimes say things other people can't see, very nice."