Chantelle Cameron torpedoed Katie Taylor’s long-awaited homecoming party with a sensational performance which earned her a razor-slim majority decision in Dublin.
Cameron won 96-94 on the cards of Craig Metcalfe and Patrick Morley while Raul Caiz Jr had it 95-95 which ensured the 32-year-old returns to Northampton, England with all four of her super-lightweight titles in tow.
In truth, she dominated large spells of the fight and showed no respect for Taylor’s power as she applied pressure from the off. Even so, she admitted she was ‘petrified’ that she would not be given the decision after 10 all-action rounds.
“I was petrified,” Cameron said. “I’ve seen it before in boxing. I was petrified and I thought I wouldnt get the decision. Katie is a great fighter.
“Putting the pressure on like that is my forte. My coaches hold me back sometimes because I get hit too much but it was one of those where they let me off the leash
“I was scared she might have done enough to nick it at the end. She’s fast and tough.”
Cameron began her ringwalk to Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds and it was in keeping with the relaxed and focused persona she had assumed all week in the madness of Taylor’s first ever professional fight in Ireland. Taylor, the challenger here, walked second.
But Cameron burst into action from the first bell and was stalking Taylor around the ring, having success early on with her double jab cross.
Taylor was not overawed though and was boxing well on the back foot, landing occasionally with right hands of her own but too often she was falling short of her bigger opponent.
Cameron was the aggressor early on but Taylor was having success in short spurts, scoring with ones and two as she back-pedalled and circled away to her left. The champion, behind a high guard, was showing no signs of slowing down.
One of Taylor’s braids unravelled early on and she looked like a desperate woman at times as Cameron began going through the gears, landing left hooks to the body and rear uppercuts on the inside. Brian Peters, Taylor’s trusty manager, had to tape her hair together between rounds as she stood.
In the sixth, the roof nearly came off the 3Arena as the pair held centre ring, put their heads together and threw down once more. However, Cameron was having the last word in nearly all of the exchanges and Taylor was failing to slow her down.
Cameron was marked slightly on the forehead but that was mainly down to head clashes but the swelling under her right eye was testament to the success Taylor was having with the left hook. But it was not enough.
It seemed as though Taylor needed to win the last three rounds in order to have any chance of clinching Cameron’s titles but the champion seemed to find another gear to keep her at bay.
“I’m not sure if I did enough to win,” Taylor said. “I’ll have to watch it back. It was a very, very close fight and it wasn’t how I wanted my homecoming fight to go. Congratulations to Chantelle on a fantastic performance. I wasn’t surprised how fast she was. I expected it. It was a tough battle and a gruelling 10 rounds which is what I expected it to be.
“Thank you for the opportunity to fight for your belts and I look forward to the rematch.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn, who delivered this homecoming for Taylor, one of Ireland’s greatest ever athletes, confirmed they will head straight into an immediate rematch.
He said: “That was another tremendous fight that could have gone either way. The result was fair but it was so close.
“There is a rematch clause and we will be doing this fight again in Dublin this autumn.
“She could campaign at 135lbs where she still holds all four belts but we know there will be only one thing on Katie Taylor’s mind and that’s a rematch with Chantelle Cameron.”