Chantelle Cameron vs Katie Taylor 2 full fight preview
May 20 was meant to be a dream homecoming for Irish heroine Katie Taylor (22-1, 6KO) at the 3Arena in Dublin, but her long-standing rival Chantelle Cameron (18-0, 8KO) completely ruined her big moment.
“Il Capo” Cameron from Northampton was the huge underdog despite being the defending undisputed world super-lightweight champion, but she proved most wrong when she dominated from the away corner to win 96-94 twice and 94-94 even.
Both wearing black and gold, Cameron’s shots were visibly heavier than Taylor’s, and her high pressure and busy style was a constant problem for the Bray boxer, who tried to match her toe-to-toe but couldn’t.
When they went head-to-head, the super-lightweight queen could not be forced back. It was Chantelle doing all the forward walking while Katie backed off mostly. By the sixth round, Cameron had thrown almost double to Taylor’s output.
Whenever Taylor did something good, Cameron came back with something better. Even at the end of the rounds, where Taylor is known for finishing strongly, Cameron responded by outmatching and outgunning her opponent every time. She persistently had Taylor backing up, caught on the ropes and covering up. Her punch variety was greater too, going to the body copiously and landing strong uppercuts on the inside.
Looking back, 36-year-old Katie Taylor took the fight at the weight above after the rematch with Amanda Serrano fell through, stepping up a weight to dare to be great.
Taylor knew all about how Cameron is big, strong, physical and imposing, and how she can’t be bullied, which she put on full display against the favourite on that historic night in May. However, being unbeaten, coming through every tough test so far in her career, and boxing in front of her home crowd was enough for Taylor to be confident of getting the win. But having been calling for the fight since before 2019, Cameron was also confident and took her moment when the time came.
Cameron may have only just won by a majority decision, but she dominated all fight long, winning at least seven of the 10 rounds, with Taylor only scraping two to three at best.
So it shows that the judges gave her a round or two more than she really deserved, with one judge scoring the bout completely even. You could tell when the result was announced as a majority decision that Cameron’s face dropped because she knew she had won unanimously, so anything else was worrying, but fortunately the judges were only a little biased on the night and didn’t completely do her wrong, although there’s a hint of injustice in those scorecards.
The Rematch
Taylor is going to be vastly improved and will most certainly possess a different game plan for this rematch. She must know she can’t outmuscle Cameron and will have to box like an amateur by sword fencing, moving in and out, scoring points then skipping away.
I assume she won’t want to be game and tough, and go toe to toe again, because that will benefit Cameron more. Taylor should throw fast flurries then pivot, roll, skip away before the return fire strikes back.
Cameron will also be better this time around. She will likely be fitter, stronger, shrewder, and more experienced with 10 rounds of downloaded data to work from.
She has already remarked that she cringes when she watches the fight back, which she has viewed hundreds of times by her own admission, and that makes me believe that she will be a bit more elusive in the rematch. I assume she’s disappointed in herself for getting caught flush quite a few times, despite those punches not having much effect, and will be looking to improve on that.
I can’t see her workrate diminishing so it’ll either be the same or better. If that’s the case, coupled with a better defence, then she could be due to win even more rounds this time, but Taylor is likely going to be more mobile and perhaps harder to pin down and land upon.
Betting Odds (Betway Sports)
4/7 Cameron
6/4 Taylor
14/1 Draw
Predictions
Cameron to perform 10 to 20 per cent better to get another convincing victory, but scored closer than it actually was on the cards… again.
Let’s be honest, we all witnessed a conclusive win from Cameron last time, yet held our breaths and crossed our fingers when the decision was announced as a 'majority', which is sad to see and unfortunately indicative of the sport.
Cameron won 7-3 unanimously but was scored 6-4 by two judges and 5-5 by the other. If the officials at ringside can remain impartial, then Cameron should win a unanimous decision, but don’t be surprised if it’s another majority or mixed decision, or even a draw if Taylor performs just that bit better than before.
How to watch Cameron vs Taylor 2
