Jonas on possible Rankin unification clash: 'I always back myself'

Newly-crowned world champion Natasha Jonas has her sights on a battle of Britain unification clash with Hannah Rankin after claiming the WBO belt in spectacular style on Saturday.

It was third time lucky for the 37-year-old as she knocked out Christian Namus inside two rounds on the undercard of the grudge match between Amir Khan and Kell Brook, having drawn with Terri Harper and lost to Katie Taylor in her previous world title challenges.

Jonas (11(8)-2-1) could now face Rankin (11(2)-5), current holder of the WBA and IBO belts, in an England versus Scotland showdown next and the Liverpudlian sees that prospect as an exciting one for both fighters and women's boxing as a whole.

"I think it's a great opportunity for both of us," Jonas told Sky Sports News. "Hannah is someone I really look up to and respect.

"She's done a lot for female boxing in Scotland and beyond, she fought champions in both Savannah [Marshall], Claressa [Shields] and many others, and she's got two world titles so that's how good she is.

"Do I believe I can win? Of course I do; I always back myself and I think it would be a great opportunity to showcase women's boxing at its finest again on a big stage somewhere."

Jonas had to go up three weight divisions for her latest title chance, having struggled to find a high-ranked opponent at lightweight.

And the 2012 world amateur championship bronze medallist revealed the work which went into ensuring she was able to produce an explosive finish in the win over Uruguay's Namas in Manchester.

"People just think you've gone up a weight and it's a case of eating more and dieting less, but it wasn't," Jonas said.

"There was a lot of science that went into that camp, I stayed at the weight I was probably going to