A new mural celebrating boxing world champion Natasha Jonas has been unveiled in Toxteth.

Natasha Jonas will defend her IBF welterweight world title this weekend in Liverpool at the Arena, has been immortalized in a huge artwork by street art specialists MurWalls.

Liverpool artist John Culshaw, Liam Bononi and Adam Brezaux worked together to create the portrait on Elwy Street off High Park Street, near to Natasha Jonas ‘s childhood home.

It depicts her with her collection of title belts and holding a glove up in victory.

Natasha went along to the unveiling of the mural and gave it a massive thumbs up and John says the response has been incredible.

“When you start a project and people ask you who you’re painting and you get such a positive response, you realise how much it does mean then,” he says.

“I’ve been inundated with messages since we did it, just thanking me because people are so happy to have something like this in Toxteth. When you have someone who comes from your area who’s done so well, it’s like they’ve done it for everyone, so everyone feels the pride. It’s one of their own who’s gone on and achieved all of this.”

In fact, Natasha Jonas is so well-loved and respected in L8, as well as the rest of the city, that the artists found themselves spoilt for choice when it came to finding the right location.

John explains: “I’ve done a few murals with MurWalls before and I know Mark so when they’ve got something in Liverpool they give me a call.

“He needed a wall in Natasha’s area and he knew I’d done a lot of work there before so he messaged me to see if I could help him get one. I went around and asked a few people and I knew the guy who owns this building and he was happy for us to put it on there.

“But it was really easy to get one because when I was knocking on doors around Toxteth almost everybody I spoke to, when I told them who I was painting, said ‘oh that’s my cousin’ or ‘that’s my friend’. Everybody knew her or knew her family so we had five to choose from in the end because everyone wanted it!”

John says Natasha’s mural took three days to complete, with the three artists working side-by-side.

“Mark lets the artists decide between themselves which part they’re going to do so we all got together and decided what we were most comfortable with and worked on that. 

“There’s only one scissor lift so we all have to have our own time on our own piece and if there’s any space someone can try and get in or get under.”

He says they’re pleased with the result, and the reaction from everyone who’s seen it so far including Natasha and her family.

“Her grandmother lives around the corner and actually came down and gave us some tickets for the fight on Saturday which was amazing,” he says.

“While we were working on the project, everyone couldn’t speak highly enough about Natasha and her family and after meeting them at the unveiling, I know they weren’t wrong, Natasha and her family are amazing people and a credit to their community, so no wonder they are held in such high regard. 

“Natasha Jonas came down when we were finished which made the whole project even more special. I knew she’d already seen it and liked it because she’d posted it on her social so that took the nerves away a bit and we were just happy that she was going to be there.

“She’s really quiet and polite but she told us she was made up with it and honoured to be recognised.

“She’s a fantastic ambassador, not just for Liverpool. She’s been pushing the boundaries and moved the bar so high, giving women in sport something to reach for, so she really deserves all the credit she gets.”

Natasha Jonas takes to the ring at the M&S Bank Arena this Saturday 20 January 2024, defending her IBF World Welterweight Title against former unified world champion Mikaela Mayer. Book tickets here.

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