Chantelle Cameron Fights for Equal Rounds and a Title — The Woman Who Beat Katie Taylor Returns
Chantelle Cameron is the only boxer to have beaten Katie Taylor in the professional ranks. That alone makes her story worth knowing. But on 29 August in Birmingham, she steps into a ring carrying something bigger than one fight.
Cameron, 35, defends her WBO super-welterweight world title against American Mikaela Mayer in a unification bout — a fight where two world titles are on the line, the winner walking away with both. The contest headlines an MVP-promoted all-female card at Birmingham's utilitarian arena, live on Sky Sports, with rising star Caroline Dubois also featuring on the bill (Sky Sports).
Mayer has promised the bout will be "the female fight of the year" (Sky Sports). She also has a point to prove on British soil: she hopes to end her losing record in the UK when she faces Cameron (Sky Sports).
Cameron's road to Birmingham runs through Dublin and a principled stand. In May 2023, she travelled to Ireland and handed Taylor — one of the most decorated fighters in women's boxing history — her first professional defeat, defending her titles in front of a hostile crowd. Six months later, Taylor avenged the loss in the rematch. Cameron had wanted that second fight contested over 12 three-minute rounds, the same format men use (BBC Sport). She didn't get it.
Women's boxing, under the rules of the WBC — one of the four major sanctioning bodies in the sport — currently fights in two-minute rounds. Men fight three. In 2023, WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán defended that policy by citing fighter safety and drawing comparisons to tennis and basketball (The Guardian).
Cameron was not persuaded. In October 2025, she vacated her WBC light-welterweight world title in protest — walking away from one of the sport's most prestigious belts because she could not compete under the same rules as men. She called it taking "a stand for what's right" (The Guardian). She has since said she plans to fight on for only a couple more years (BBC Sport).
The fight for three-minute rounds sits alongside a broader push for equal pay and equal conditions in women's boxing. Cameron has become its most visible advocate, using the platform that beating Taylor gave her to argue that women deserve the same time, the same rules, and the same respect as their male counterparts.
For fans, the Birmingham card offers a rare concentration of talent. The main event pairs two elite fighters at the peak of their powers. The undercard features Jessica Barry against Reina Tellez (Sky Sports). And the whole show is built around women.
Cameron from Northampton's Eastern District has never been anyone's second act. She beat the best, lost the rematch, gave up a world title on principle, and now returns to unify belts in a fight that could define the year. That's a story worth watching.
