Uninspired by what would be waiting for her as a female fighter in the professional game, Natasha Jonas called it quits on boxing in 2015. So it may be deemed an unexpected turn of events that, a decade later, she finds herself atop an all-women's bill where she'll fight for unified world honours.

"It was one of the biggest decisions I've ever made," the WBC/IBF 147-pound champion told The Ring.

"When I said goodbye to Team GB, in effect I was saying goodbye to boxing because at the time the pro scene wasn't something I ever thought about because you could barely make a living out of it.

"I never thought I'd come back, that's why it was such a hard decision to make but I had to recover from an operation and knew I'd miss the World Championships which was the qualifier for Rio. And then the next one was 2020 and I was thinking 'do I really want to wait another five years?'. And the GB programme was so hard, I take my hat off to Frazer Clarke, I don't know how he stuck at it for so long."

But back the Liverpudlian came. In the time she'd been gone she gave birth to her daughter, Mela. Five days after her 33rd birthday in June 2017, Jonas (16-2-1, 9 KOs) made her pro debut against Monika Antonik at the Walker Activity Dome in Newcastle, winning by first-round stoppage.

Seven months before that, Katie Taylor, who Jonas fought and lost to in the quarter-final stage of the London Olympics in 2012, made her own pro debut for Matchroom and Eddie Hearn. Things were about to change, Jonas thought.

She added: "I definitely think Katie going pro and the big fuss that was made for her ignited the fire. There was a lot of backing and calls for other promoters and other platforms to have female boxers.

"But I always knew what I had and what I'm capable of, but I didn't always show it. And I think it took a few fights to kind of get the momentum back, because there's being fit and there's being boxing fit, which are two different things."

Following her debut win, Jonas had her hand raised in eight of her next nine fights before finding herself in a position to fight Terri Harper for her WBC junior-lightweight. The bout took place at Matchroom HQ under Covid guidelines and ended in a controversial draw.

In a full-circle moment, she came up against Taylor in her next fight, losing another close decision in an attempt to win the undisputed lightweight title.

But everything came together for Jonas in February 2022. On the Amir Khan-Kell Brook undercard she stopped Chris Namus to win the WBO 154-pound title before unifying twice more by the end of the year.

Now settled at welterweight with two more belts to hand, she holds wins over Kandi Wyatt, Mikaela Mayer and Ivana Habazin at 147 pounds.

On that first crowning moment against Namus, she said: "It was literally the last chance saloon, so there was a lot of pressure. If I didn't win on that night, there was going to be nowhere else for me to go."

This Friday, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Jonas faces 2020 Olympic gold-medallist Lauren Price (8-0, 2 KOs), who holds the WBA and Ring belts at welterweight. The Sky Sports show is an all-female card, which also features bouts between Karriss Artingstall and Raven Chapman & Caroline Dubois' WBC lightweight title defence against Bo Mi Re Shin.

The build-up to the fight with Price has been a frosty one so far. Jonas has settled into the rivalry as the experienced, cool head, while Price has taken on the role of brash newcomer with everything to prove.

"I think I'm a bit too experienced for her," Jonas said. "I'm past the point of caring about what other people think and trying to prove people wrong. All I need to do is prove myself right, so I'm quite comfortable in myself knowing that. I'm not trying to impress Lauren, I'm not trying to impress Rob [McCracken]. I know how good of a coach he is, and I know how good of a fighter Lauren is, but I just think I'm better."

There's something else which will make fight night a little more special for Jonas. Her daughter Mela, now nine years old, will be in attendance at one of her bouts for the very first time.

"This will be her first one of mine that she's been to," the 40-year-old added.

"Weirdly enough, today, out of nowhere, she said this morning, 'Mummy, when you see me on fight night, do you think you will be under too much pressure?' I was like 'no'.

"I don't know if she's heard me say that in interviews or where that's come from. I'll have to ask her, but she said that to me this morning. She said 'what I'll do, I can just hide'. I was like 'you don't have to hide, it's fine'.

"She said 'well, if you see me, just imagine it's Nanny or someone'. She's only nine. She's been coming out with a lot like that since she's been born. She's well ahead of her years."

Jonas understands that one day, Mela might want to put on some gloves herself.

She says: "For all the opportunities that boxing has given me, I'd be stupid to say no to her.

"But I do think if you're a child of someone who's been successful going into the same sport, there's an expectation of you to be a certain type of good. And that can weigh heavy.

"It's good because in the sense of if you look at Eubank Jr, Conor Benn, Campbell Hatton, they've probably got better promotional deals than most new starters just because of their name. So it can have a positive effect. But then the negative effect is the pressure that comes with that of being as good as your parents."

Jonas, at 40, doesn't have too long left in the sport. She was certain 2024 would be her last year in action but after the Price fight, a second crack at undisputed looms against the winner of Mayer vs. Sandy Ryan, which takes place on March 29 in Las Vegas.

With that said, there are more history-making nights in the offing for Jonas, who also jokes that she may grant her trainer Joe Gallagher's wish of retirement following the Price fight. One thing's for certain, when Jonas leaves the sport for the second time, she'll pack her bags with a legacy in tow.