Northampton native Chantelle Cameron has claimed that her loss in last month's rematch with Katie Taylor was due to several factors beyond her control.
The pair fought again in Dublin's 3Arena, and this time Taylor emerged victorious in the second bout. Ireland's Taylor won by a majority decision over Cameron in November, becoming the undisputed light-welterweight champion once again and avenging the only defeat of her professional career so far.
The win means that Taylor now holds the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO light-welterweight belts, and the likelihood of a rematch and trilogy fight is on the cards.
Despite losing her belts and the second fight, Cameron has not given praise to Taylor for overcoming her. Instead, she has blamed the unknown referee, Roberto Ramirez Jr., who was on duty for the night in question.
“It wasn’t just me and Katie in that ring. If it was, I’d take the loss and say the better woman won on the night,” the 32-year-old told BBC Northampton.
“I had everything against me. The ref on the night... it was such a high-status fight, why would you put in a referee that no one had heard of?
“That’s not my job; it’s my job to fight. I don’t look into who’s reffing or who’s judging. I’m just frustrated; if I could turn back the hands of time, I would make sure that was all looked into. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Katie Taylor celebrates her win over Chantelle Cameron for the Undisputed Super-Lightweight World Title Fight at The 3Arena Dublin on November 25, 2023, in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Mark Robinson/Getty Images)The quest for the trilogy is set to gather pace in the coming weeks, with Croke Park again being the venue most sought after by Eddie Hearn and Katie Taylor. Cameron will likely be Taylor's opponent in whatever venue gets selected.
For now, she isn't going over her performance in the second fight but has decided to take some time off before starting the quest to get her belts back from Taylor.
“It’s not the time to watch it back at the minute because it will just make me angrier. For the time being, I’m just going to let it settle a bit,” she added.
“I want the trilogy; it doesn’t matter where it is. She’s the champion now, and I’ve just got to do what I’ve got to do to make sure it happens, and I’ll accept anything. I want that fight, and I want my belts back.
“I need to get a belt so I can bring it back to Northampton and fight in front of my hometown, my friends, my family, and homecoming.
Cameron will also use the "me against the world" narrative to ensure she succeeds in overcoming Taylor when the fight date, time, and venue are selected down the line.
“I’ll get a belt back. I’ve got a champion mindset. I don’t think it was a fair match; the belts were snatched off me, not just by Katie; there was a lot of stuff going on outside the ring.
“I’m determined now to kind of fight everyone; I feel it’s me against the world now.”
