Toxteth sisters Natasha Jonas and Nikita Parris clinch victories in boxing and football on same day

Sporting sisters Natasha Jonas and Nikita Parris are undoubtedly two of the most successful athletes to ever come out of Merseyside.

Despite taking different paths, the Toxteth duo have enjoyed huge victories in their own sports - boxing and football.

Always inspiring each other to be the very best, the sisters clinched international success on the same day.

Natasha Jonas claimed the super-welterweight division on Saturday, 3 August, by beating Patricia Berghult at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena, adding the WBC belt to her WBO title.

Meanwhile, her sister Nikita helped steer the Lionesses to victory against Austria, securing their place in the 2023 Women's World Cup.

Who is Natasha Jonas?

Born on 18 June 1984 in Toxteth, Natasha Jonas is a British professional boxer who holds the super-welterweight world champion title.

Initially intending to be a footballer, she spent 18 months at a college in the United States on a football scholarship.

But her dreams of being the next Messi of women's football came to end after she tore her ligament in a bad tackle.

She returned to the Toxteth without finishing her degree.

But Natasha's love for sport was reignited when she tried her hand at boxing, competing with the England team within a year.

Jonas went on to become the first ever British female boxer to compete at an Olympic Games in London 2012.

She beat US fighter Quanitta Underwood, but missed out on the Gold medal to Irish boxer Katie Taylor.

In February 2022, the fighter secured her dream with a second-round knockout win over Christian Namus for the World Boxing Organisation super-welterweight title.

She dedicated her win to her daughter, Mela. After the win, she said: "Mommy did it. This is for you, she's bringing the belt home."

Most recently, Jonas beat Swedish fighter Patricia Berghult to clinch the title of super-welterweight world champion.

Who is Nikita Parris?

Born 10 March 1994, Nikita Parris is the younger sister Natasha, who has made a name for herself in the footballing world.

From a young age, Nikita's love for football shone through. She played with her older brothers into her teen years and even formed her own team to get more girls involved in the sport.

Nikita joined the grassroots club of Kingsley alongside her her two cousins and sister.

At the age of 16, Parris joined her first ever senior club team with Everton. It was not long before she was called up by Manchester City in January 2016.

During her time at City, she made 127 appearances for the club and scored 62 goals.

From 2018 to 2020, Parris held the record as all-time leading scorer in the Women's Super League and won several major tournaments.

In 2019, the goal-scorer left the Blues to join Olympique Lyonnais overseas.

After two seasons, she switched back to the Super League to join Arsenal F.C for a club-record fee on in July 2021.

Most recently, in August 2022, Parris was confirmed to have signed for Manchester United.

Parris made her debut with the Lionesses against Serbia in June 2016, and scored her first goals which she described as an "unbelievable feeling".

In June 2022, Nikita helped steer the England team to victory in the Women's European Championship. She made two substitute appearances during their campaign.

On Saturday, the 28-year-old helped England secured World Cup qualification with a goal against Austria in Wiener Neustadt.

She has earned 67 caps for the Lionesses so far.

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