In a highly anticipated match at a packed 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, renowned martial artist Conor McGregor in attendance, English boxer Chantelle Cameron spoiled Katie Taylor’s homecoming by securing a majority decision victory, successfully defending her status as the undisputed super lightweight champion.
With judges scoring the bout 95-95, 96-94, and 96-94 in favor of the visitor, it proved to be a “heart-wrenching” night for the Irish fans witnessing the main event. Taylor, along with fellow local fighters Gary Cully and Dennis Hogan, suffered defeats, leaving the home crowd disappointed.
Reflecting on the judges’ cards, Cameron admitted feeling apprehensive. “I was petrified,” she confessed. “I’ve seen it happen in boxing before, it has happened to my team in the past. So yeah, I was petrified that I wouldn’t get the decision.”
Described as a close fight, the No. 7-ranked fighter on ESPN’s women’s pound-for-pound ranking, who is likely to climb in the rankings following this victory over the No. 2-ranked Taylor, maintained constant pressure throughout the 10 rounds against the local fighter, who had moved up to 140 pounds to contest all four of her belts.
The weight difference was evident as Cameron’s punches visibly affected her opponent, while Taylor, at times, appeared fatigued and lacking power in her punches.
Taylor’s trainer, Ross Enamait, repeatedly advised her during the breaks to avoid engaging in toe-to-toe exchanges with Cameron. “Move around the ring. Utilize your footwork and the dimensions of the ring. Score with your punches, but don’t stand still.”
Taylor made efforts to follow the advice but struggled under the relentless pressure from the 32-year-old English boxer, who was born, resides, and trains in Northampton. “My strategy was to keep pushing all the time. And that’s exactly what I did.”
Cameron relied on volume rather than accuracy in her punches, a strategy supported by the statistics provided by Compubox. The winner threw nearly twice as many punches (565) as Taylor (284) and connected with 141 (25%), while Taylor landed 111 (39.1%).
When asked about the decision, Taylor expressed uncertainty. “I’m not sure, to be honest. I have to go back and watch it. It was obviously a very, very close fight. It wasn’t how I wanted my homecoming to go. But I’m very grateful for the support, to be honest. Thank you, Chantelle, for the opportunity to fight for your belts. I hope to have a rematch. I came up short tonight.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, representing both fighters, acknowledged it was a great fight that could have swung either way. He confirmed that a rematch is in the plans, scheduled for the fall of this year in Dublin.
With a professional record of 18-0-0, 8 KO’s, Cameron avenged her previous loss to Taylor when they faced each other as amateur fighters in 2011. Meanwhile, Taylor’s record stands at 22-1-0, 6 KO’s.
Having defeated welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill to become the undisputed super lightweight champion in November, Cameron once again triumphed against an undisputed champion, Taylor, further solidifying her status as one of the pound-for-pound greats.
Expressing her ambitions, Cameron stated, “I’m tired of just holding onto my belts. I want to go after more belts,” hinting at the possibility of pursuing a different fight or even dropping down to 135 pounds to challenge Taylor for her belts.
With her impressive performance, Chantelle Cameron finds herself with plenty of options ahead.
