Chantelle Cameron isn’t totally pleased with her upcoming rematch against Katie Taylor.
In May, Cameron beat Taylor in their marquee matchup in Dublin, retaining her undisputed light-welterweight title with a majority decision win. Billed as Homecoming, as it was Taylor’s first professional bout in Ireland, the bout was originally supposed to be a rematch between Taylor and Amanda Serrano for Taylor’s lightweight titles before Serrano withdrew due to injury, giving Cameron the opportunity to step in and hand Taylor her first professional defeat. And now, Cameron has to do it all again.
This Saturday, Cameron and Taylor rematch in the exact same location, with Cameron once again putting her titles on the line, and she’s none too pleased about it.
“It is like deja vu. I’m singing to Katie’s tune again,” Cameron said on The MMA Hour. “I’m over in Dublin, I’m putting my belts on the line, whereas the rematch — I beat her the first time. So she could have put her belts on the line and drained me and got me down to 135. Or we could have gone anywhere else in the world and had this rematch, but I’m singing to Katie’s tune again. I’m putting my belts on the line, I’m back in Dublin, but for me, my mindset is completely different.
“May 20, that version of me, I was quite in awe of Katie Taylor. So it was like, ‘I’m finally getting this opportunity, I’m finally getting this fight.’ And I actually had an injury that whole camp, but I knew that I had to take the fight there and then because if I hadn’t I’d never see that fight again. It was the first time Katie Taylor mentioned my name, let alone called me out, so I jumped on it. I grabbed the opportunity with two hands, and I knew I had to take it. I was grateful for the opportunity as well. Grateful I was finally getting to face Katie Taylor, because I believed I would always beat her… And I proved it May 20. So this fight I’m coming in there knowing that I’ve shown everyone I can beat her, but this time I’m a better version of myself.”
Cameron went on to explain that the injury was to her triceps and she was rendered unable to punch for multiple weeks during her training camp as a result. This time around, Cameron says there’s been none of that, but the situation still isn’t ideal for her.
“I’m a little bit frustrated,” Cameron said about the terms of the rematch. “She’s getting to roll the dice twice, which, fair enough. She is Katie Taylor. What she’s done for women’s boxing is amazing and I appreciate that, but at the same time, it’s kind of like, what are you doing with your lightweight belts? You’ve not defended them for a year now. And why Dublin? Why do I have to come back to Dublin? To be honest, I’m actually having a great week. The Irish have been amazing… but at the same time, this isn’t my country either. I don’t know why we couldn’t be in the U.K. or the Middle East, or America. It could have been anywhere, but we had to come back to Dublin. This is Katie Taylor’s country. It’s all for Katie Taylor.
“I had no choice. I did say, do I get a rematch clause in this fight? Because it’s okay coming back for the rematch, but what if I get robbed? What’s going to happen to me then? Is everything just in Katie Taylor’s favor so she takes my belts and she gets the fairytale homecoming finally, because I won it the first time. I’m not getting a rematch clause. There’s no rematch clause. I kind of just have to come over here and get the rematch on. It’s a great fight anyway, and obviously it’s a big opportunity again for me. For me, I’ve just got to showcase to everybody how good I am. May 20, I don’t think I boxed brilliant at all. I don’t think that was my best performance, by far. Now everyone’s going to see. There are no excuses. I’m going to go in there making sure I put on the best statement I possibly can.”
In lieu of a rematch clause or a different location, Cameron said she also pushed for the fight to take place at lightweight instead, a weight class she also won titles in, so at least Taylor would be putting something on the line. Ultimately though, nothing came of that.
“My team was pushing for 135,” Cameron said. “Even after the first fight, I said I’ll come down to 135 and challenge you for your belts. I made it loud and clear, as soon as I beat her on May 20, if you want the rematch, let’s put your belts on the line. When we were going back and forth about Dublin, I said I’ll come back to Dublin if we go at 135, but again, there was no movement in that. There was no budge.”
But despite winning the first fight and currently being the No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound female boxer according to Ring Magazine, Cameron recognizes that ultimately, Taylor’s popularity allowed her to call the shots. And while that might faze some fighters, who view the terms of the rematch as blatantly favoring Taylor, Cameron says she simply has to block all of that noise out and handle her business on Saturday.
“I’m just focused on me,” Cameron said. “I’ve got a job to do, and Katie Taylor is standing in the way of my career moving on. If I lose, then where do I go? For me, it’s kind of like, pushing that aside. I’m really not bothered, I’m just so focused on doing what I’ve got to do and what I’ve got to get through to make sure that in my career, I get the nights that I want.”
Cameron vs. Taylor 2 goes down Saturday night at the 3Arena in Dublin.