14.11.2023 - Katie Taylor has helped put women’s boxing on the map, and the Irish phenom's bout against Chantelle Cameron earlier this year was much anticipated.
It was the first time the 37-year-old fought in her homeland during her professional career, but it didn’t end as expected, as her English counterpart won via a majority decision after a hard-fought 10 rounds at the 3Arena.
The pair are set to trade blows again at the Dublin venue on November 25. However, the Irishwoman faces an apparent uphill task as she is the underdog in the Cameron v Taylor odds.
At 6/4, it is the first time in Taylor’s professional career that she isn’t going into a fight as the favourite. Instead, Cameron is the more favoured fighter at 4/7.
It promises to be another cracking bout. So, as we countdown the days to Cameron vs Taylor II, let’s look back at the first encounter between this pair.
Opening rounds
Both fighters came out of the blocks quickly from the first bell, with Taylor mostly opting to score with jabs in the first round while Cameron made her intentions to target the Irishwoman’s abdomen clear with a couple of body shots.
The second round was just as fast-paced, with Cameron again going for the body of Taylor. The 37-year-old did land some nice punches of her own though, including a right hand, left hook and a nice combo.
A very even fight after the first couple of rounds, Cameron perhaps started to gain ascendancy in the third and fourth — coming forward to put pressure on Taylor and landing a good mix of body and face shots
Middle rounds
The fifth round was another fast-paced couple of minutes, with Cameron having Taylor up against the ropes and boxing very smartly.
However, the speed slowed down somewhat in the sixth round, and that appeared to suit Taylor better.
She put Cameron on the back foot with a left hook and Taylor landed some nice combinations to arguably give her the first win in a round since the start of the fight.
But the seventh round saw the pendulum swing back to Cameron, as she landed a few right hands, a couple of jabs and a fierce left hook on Taylor.
Closing rounds
Taylor was up against it on the judges’ scorecards going into the last three rounds, but she closed the gap by taking the eighth as Cameron’s defence let in numerous punches from the 37-year-old.
The Englishwoman came out firing in the penultimate round, however, scoring with shots to the body and head before landing an uppercut. Taylor remained on the back foot for much of the round, and Cameron came out on top come the bell.
The last round was absolute chaos, with both fighters throwing hands freely as tiredness was visibly setting in at the 3Arena.
It was Taylor’s round on the scorecards once again, but it was too little too late as the ring announcer declared the bout 95-95, 96-94, and 96-94 in Cameron’s favour.
--
It’s sure to be just as close when these two meet again on November 25, so it’s going to be incredibly tough to make a prediction in the boxing betting.
