Featured image: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing.
Six months on from suffering her first professional loss, Ireland’s Katie Taylor (22-1, 6KOs) returns to Dublin hoping to overturn her majority-decision defeat to Northampton’s Chantelle Cameron (18-0, 8KOs) in May.
The latter made the first defence of her undisputed super-lightweight titles at the 3Arena by majority-decision to upset the party atmosphere in the Irish capital.
A second consecutive loss in front of her home crowd will no doubt prove difficult to swallow for Taylor who hadn’t fought on Irish soil since turning professional prior to the pair’s first meeting.
The 37-year-old first became WBA lightweight champion in October 2017 before eventually ruling as undisputed champion with a controversial majority-decision win over Delfine Persoon 18 months later.
Taylor’s hand was raised in a rematch the following year to erase any doubt before making a further six successful defences at 135lbs.
A brief stint as WBO super-lightweight belt-holder in 2019 meant the first fight with Cameron wasn’t her first rodeo at 140lbs but the London 2012 gold medalist was unable to become a two-time undisputed champion earlier this year, despite being given the champion treatment throughout the week.
“I’m very, very grateful for this opportunity again. I have a second chance here and I just can’t wait to fight on this stage whether I’m seen as the underdog or favourite,” she said at the fight week press conference.
“Whoever walks to the ring first or second, all of that stuff is irrelevant. I’m just excited and hungry for the rematch and I can’t wait to step in there and perform the way I know I can.”
Cameron meanwhile had been calling for a fight with Taylor for a long while.
After first becoming WBC champion at 140lbs in May 2021, the 32-year-old added the IBF belt seven months later before claiming the final two pieces of the undisputed puzzle against Jessica McCaskill a year ago.
While Taylor was initially set to meet Amanda Serrano in a highly-anticipated rematch, an injury to the latter finally opened the door for Cameron to land her signature victory and announce herself as one of the best pound-for-pound female fighters on the planet.
She did just that with a commanding performance over Taylor six months back, winning comfortably in the eyes of most despite one judging scoring the bout a 95-95 draw.
“I’ve put the work in [and] trained harder than ever. I feel like it’s [been] the best camp I’ve ever had,” she said this week in search of a repeat result.
“I know I’m gonna be up against it. Katie’s seeking revenge and I couldn’t take that into my stride and think ‘it’s gonna be a walk in the park’ cos I know it isn’t. This is the fittest I’ve ever been.”
Cully returns against Mould; Nicolson steps up versus Wildheart
A third-round stoppage defeat brought the Gary Cully (16-1, 10KOs) hype train to an abrupt halt on the undercard of the first Cameron-Taylor fight in May.
The 27-year-old was dropped twice in the third by Mexico’s Jose Felix before his corner eventually threw in the towel to cement his first pro loss in 17 outings.
Cully has since teamed up with Joe McNally at Rotunda ABC in Liverpool and faces Doncaster’s Reece Mould (16-1, 6KOs) over ten in his return this weekend.
Australian featherweight Skye Nicolson (8-0) also steps up as she faces Sweden’s Lucy Wildheart (10-2, 4KOs) over ten rounds.
Nicolson finds herself ranked number one by the WBC with a world title shot set in the near future providing she overcomes the number three ranked Wildheart who lost a competitive unanimous decision to former super-featherweight belt-holder Mikaela Mayer in April.
Limerick welterweight Paddy Donovan (11-0, 8KOs) also takes on Dudley’s Danny Ball (13-1-1, 6KOs) over ten, while Manchester super-featherweight Zelfa Barrett (29-2, 16KOs) faces Romanian Costin Ion (10-4-2, 5KOs) over eight.
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