Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron Fight Preview
Date, start time and venue:
Saturday, May 20, at the 3Arena, Dublin, for Cameron’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO women’s super lightweight titles, undercard starts at 6pm, main ring walk 10pm.
Verdict:
There could be a fight of the year contender on Saturday night when Katie Taylor makes a triumphant homecoming to Ireland to fight Chantelle Cameron.
Undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor will fight in Ireland for the first time as a professional on Saturday looking to become an undisputed two-weight world champion against Chantelle Cameron.
Like Taylor, Cameron from Northampton is unbeaten, and she was the only opponent that Taylor wanted after the rematch with Amanda Serrano fell through due to an injury to the Puerto Rican.
It will undoubtedly be Taylor’s toughest test to date and she has taken a real risk fighting the tough Brit on her homecoming.
The classy lightweight has beaten all before her to date with a 22-0 record and she is the 8/13 favourite to become a two-weight world champion. But stepping up to the 140lb weight gives the bigger Cameron a real chance of a career-defining win.
Taylor has won a WBO world title at light welterweight (140lbs) in 2019. She briefly stepped up to beat Christina Linardatou in 2019 but she finished with her right eye nearly swollen shut.
Taylor had a scare in the eighth round of that contest, stumbling after Linardatou connected with two big right hands. Taylor got the verdict via majority decision with one judge calling it a draw (94-94, 97-93, 97-93).
That was the last time Taylor has been seen at 140lbs and she knows she will be in for a tough evening against Cameron.
Cameron (17-0) will have a height and reach advantage over Taylor, who will be hoping her speed will cause the younger fighter problems.
Taylor is four years older and has experience on her side with almost 70 more rounds under her belt, but will she tire against the naturally heavier opponent?
There is plenty of respect between the pair and Cameron admits Taylor is ‘the best there is’ – but she is focused on winning in the Emerald Isle.
Cameron weighed in at 139.6lbs last time out against American Jessica McCaskill in November. She was dominant over the 10 rounds and won 97-93, 96-94 and 96-94 on the judges’ scorecards to become the UK’s first female undisputed champion.
It was a fight of contrasting styles as the unorthodox American tried to land bombs from round one. But Cameron was the classier of the pair and managed to get in first and last on the exchanges and she showed her toughness to win on the cards in a one-sided contest.
Before that fight, Cameron disposed of the tough Argentinian Victoria Noelia Bustos at the O2 Arena in May 2021. Cameron defended her WBC and IBF super lightweight titles with a wide unanimous decision over Bustos in another fight which showed she was a class above.
Cameron-Taylor to go the distance
Cameron has had five world title fights and four of those have gone the 10-round distance and another 10-rounder looks more than likely against Taylor.
Taylor herself has had a staggering 16 world title fights with 14 of those going the distance, including her last win over Karen Elizabeth Carabajal in October last year, when she weighed in at 134.6lbs.
Taylor has also come up against Bustos, who she beat in Brooklyn in 2018. And she won against McCaskill in 2017 via unanimous decision, despite having a point deducted for holding.
There is not too much to draw from the rivals’ meetings with Bustos and McCaskill. Both got the jobs done with minimum fuss and Taylor is a lot more seasoned.
There is no doubt that Taylor will be hoping her speed and quick combinations will be too much for Cameron. But Cameron will take heart from Taylor’s last dalliance at 140lbs which left her badly marked up.
Cameron will look to drag Taylor into a war and Taylor may well engage, but she will be better served boxing on the outside, as she did against Linardatou four years ago.
Cameron should have the edge on power punches, she is the younger fighter and the 18/1 quote about the draw is worth a small investment. But Taylor’s class might just be too much over the 20 minutes and the home crowd could well drag Taylor to victory on the cards.
