By Vince D’Writer: Katie Taylor always dreamed about having a homecoming bout, but on May 20th, the dream turned into a nightmare as the undisputed super-lightweight champion Chantelle Cameron successfully defended her title and earned the majority decision victory.
Back in November 2022, the then WBC, IBF super-lightweight champion Chantelle Cameron defeated Jessica McCaskill and won the vacant WBO and WBA titles. Six months later, as the undisputed super-lightweight champion, Chantelle Cameron was scheduled to make her first defense.
The first task as the undisputed champion would prove to be a difficult one as she was set to battle Katie Taylor in her own backyard of Dublin, Ireland. Despite the fact that she was the defending champion, Chantelle Cameron was the underdog, and on fight night, she was the first fighter to walk into the ring.
Once the bell sounded to officially start the undisputed super-lightweight title bout, Cameron applied immediate pressure. For the majority of the early rounds, Cameron forced Taylor to fight off her back foot.
The defending champion was extremely effective in the early rounds fighting off the front foot, using the jab, the one-two, and the left hook. In the 4th round, Katie Taylor decided to stand her ground, and as a result, the fans witnessed some exciting toe-to-toe action.
During the course of the 140-pound undisputed world championship fight, there were many moments where Taylor and Cameron would stand in front of each other and exchange blows. It was Taylor’s hand speed versus Cameron’s power and aggression.
The highly anticipated bout did not disappoint, as it featured non-stop action from the opening bell to the final bell. In the end, Cameron was able to silence the homecoming crowd as she earned a majority decision victory by the scores of 95-95, 96-94, and 96-94.
Katie Taylor (22-1, 6 KOs) was able to finally have her homecoming match, but unfortunately the event resulted in her first professional loss. Despite the defeat, Taylor is still the undisputed 135-pound champion.
Overall the atmosphere at 3Arena was electric, but the end results were disappointing as all three Irish fighters on the main card suffered defeat. In addition to Taylor, Dennis Hogan lost to James Metcalf by unanimous decision, and Gary Cully was brutally stopped in the third round by Jose Felix.
As for Chantelle Cameron (18-0, 8 KOs), she went into a hostile environment and came out with the biggest win of her pro boxing career. Katie Taylor was obviously disappointed by the outcome, but she’s looking forward to a rematch. When asked about a rematch, Cameron seemed interested, but under one condition.
“Well, let’s see, I boxed McCaskill at 147 she was a undisputed champion. I’m kind of sick of putting my belts on the line. How about one of them put their belts on the line? I’ll go down to 135 and take them belts off her (Taylor) hands. I don’t think I should keep defending my belts. I’ll take their belts now.”
Chantelle Cameron is open to a rematch, but this time the terms must be in Cameron’s favor. In addition to fighting for Katie Taylor’s belts, the undisputed super-lightweight champion wants her own homecoming bout, and on a personal note, she would like a little admiration from the boxing fans and boxing pundits.
“I feel like I’ve not really had much respect in boxing for what I’ve done. I’m the first undisputed champion in Britain, and like, who knows me? In Northampton, there’s a small people that know me, and I don’t get the credit I think I deserve. I just beat the pound-for-pound best, so I want some respect to my name.”