Chantelle Cameron: "I want to be in the big fights and become a world champion again. But I just want to be happy and enjoy fighting again."
There is something different now about Chantelle Cameron. A fighter who has struggled in many ways since she turned professional in 2017. Cameron has spent a significant amount of those seven years fighting back against the politics of the sport that have often swung against her. Periods of unhappiness that have clearly affected her and taken away much of her love for the sport.
Cameron has spoken out at times. Quite rightly in this observer's opinion. She has said plenty. Trust me, she could have said more. A lot more. At other times, she has kept quiet. Too quiet. Make no mistake, boxing hasn't always treated her well. The understatement of any year.
But Cameron has found light in all the recent darkness. And closure on the past.
"I just feel I have had a big reset," Cameron told me over Zoom. "And it was needed," She quickly added. "Everyone says it, but you reach a point in your career where you either hang your gloves up or make the changes to get that hunger and drive back. I have never felt so good."
Cameron has rung the changes in her inner circle in 2024. An amicable split from long-time trainer Jamie Moore was the start of her new beginning. A working relationship with Grant Smith in Sheffield swiftly followed.
If that parting of the ways was a surprise to many, the split from Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing came as no surprise. Cameron left her November rematch with Katie Taylor with only one fight left on her existing contract. When the trilogy fight fell away without an agreement, Cameron was always likely to look elsewhere. Frank Warren and Queensberry Promotions came calling.
But in many ways, that split from Matchroom had been a long-time coming.
"To be fair, it was even before the third fight with Katie fell through," Cameron says of how long that potential split was in the air. "I have to be careful what I say because it always comes across as negative. I don't want to keep talking about the past. I just want to focus on what a positive new start this will be for me. Frank Warren is going to promote me. He is going to look after me. I haven't really had that before, so just that in itself speaks volumes." A fighter who just wants to move on. And upwards.
The situation with Cameron does mirror what her friend Natasha Jonas went through when she left her Matchroom days behind and signed with Boxxer in 2021. For the Liverpool fighter, it was about being the A-side and not just being the opponent for the more favoured house fighter. A desire to just be treated and promoted as more of a priority.
"That is the exact same thing for me," Cameron said in agreement about the two similar cases. "Matchroom did good things for me. But people forget I got myself in the mandatory position before I even signed with Matchroom. It wasn't really set up for me," Cameron said on the much talked about super-lightweight tournament that finished with her being crowned the undisputed champion at 140 in 2022.
"Tasha was supposed to be part of it as well. There has been a lot of he said, she said. But I am going to be looked after now, and I have got the best team behind me. Previously, nobody stood up for me and actually spoke the truth. They let me take the brunt of things, and it didn't need to be like that. A massive narrative has been put out there about me, and literally, a nail in the coffin could have been said to end it all. And it never happened. I don't have a great image now. People think I am a brat and a moaner. But people who know me all know the truth. They say I am awkward to deal with, but people who know me all know the truth. I am probably the easiest person to get on a card because I just say yes to everyone. But again, that's the narrative that people paint of me. But nobody stood up and told the truth about me. But the truth always comes out. I can't speak out now because of the backlash, but when the gloves have been hung up, that's when the truth will come out because then I won't care what people think about me."
To me, what has always been missing is the human touch in that previous working relationship. A simple message or a phone call immediately after her last fight would have said plenty to a fighter who was trying to process her first professional defeat. But that historic and career-defining victory over Katie Taylor last May was seemingly washed away without the credit it should have received. The winner lost and forgotten in that homecoming story that wasn't supposed to end the way it did.
"I got a massive win, and it would have been nice to get a little more recognition for it." Words from Cameron that highlight perfectly her frustrations of the past year or so.
But Cameron now gets that brand new start. Even over Zoom, you can see the difference in the Northampton fighter. The smile is back. The hunger and desire also..
There was demand for her signature.
"I did have other offers on the table, but Frank made perfect sense to me," Cameron told FightPost. "He gets on and works with everyone. Frank doesn't have many female boxers in his stable, and he will make a lot of noise for me. Frank has been around the sport for so long, and he has done everything. When I first met Frank, he was such a nice guy. He was lovely to me. A proper gentleman, he was very kind to me, and that spoke volumes for me.
"Frank knows what I want, and he is onboard to get me what I want. I am targeting anyone who has a belt at 140, and Frank knows that is my goal. Already, my next fight is for the interim title, and that will put me right in position to get a shot at those belts. Frank has already delivered me that, and this is just my first fight with him."
Elhem Mekhaled will be the opponent next month. The WBC interim super-lightweight bauble up for grabs in a fight that is designed to keep Cameron firmly in line to regain her cherished 140 titles. A fighter who will aim to make a statement and send more than a little reminder to her rivals.
"July 20th is my target, and I can't overlook my opponent. You can't be complacent. But I am there to prove a massive point and impress everyone and show who the real champion is at 140."
Taylor and Amanda Serrano will rekindle their rivalry at some point in the coming months. The undisputed titles could very be out of reach for Cameron while Taylor and Serrano settle their business. Cameron believes her old rival could lose to the Puerto Rican native.
"I do think Serrano will win, and that will leave them in a position to do the trilogy." A potential third fight between Taylor and Serrano could leave Cameron looking elsewhere for an immediate big-time dance partner.
Natasha Jonas, the IBF welterweight champion and the American Mikaela Mayer, are obvious names to fill the void if Taylor is chasing Serrano for the remainder of this calendar year. Two fights that Cameron is more than interested in.
"Natasha and Mikaela would be massive fights. I have got a lot of respect for both of those girls. They are amazing boxers. If we all get through our next fights, we can definitely meet down the line."
Cameron looks to be a reborn fighter. Someone who is clearly relishing what lies ahead. The ambitions enhanced by her recent changes to her inner circle.
"I want to be in the big fights and become a world champion again," Cameron says of her future. "But I just want to be happy and enjoy fighting again. Before, it was all about the money and the politics. I just want to have some fun, have some entertaining fights, and just focus on that and not worry about anyone's opinions on me. Boxing is a business and it's so sad because it is now all about the money. People sit on their computers and type away and judge. But they have no idea about the ins and the outs of the sport and what really goes on. But for me, it's screw all that. I have got a new chapter now, and I am going to enjoy every second of it. I am just going to focus on the positives and not the negatives and become a world champion again.
"I am much happier now. Boxing has been up and down. It's been like a rollercoaster. I don't know how or why I have persevered at times. Boxing can be so brutal. But I am so happy now. It's about enjoying the sport and not just being a puppet."
It is that word, happy, that was repeated more than once during our time on Zoom. Something that just hasn't been there of late. The two fights in Dublin left a bad taste. The biggest win of her career, couldn't be celebrated or appreciated the way it should have been. That victory in the first fight wasn't in the script. It should have brought her more. Much more. The story should then have been primarily about Cameron and that famous win. Sadly, the plaudits didn't come her way. The story always lied elsewhere. No matter what she achieved, you sense nothing much would change.
But Cameron gets to go once again. Too much energy spent and wasted fighting what was going on behind the scenes. The political shenanigans of alleged favouritism that was out of her control and a battle she was never likely to win. But that is now a thing of the past.
Cameron, at 33, is still at her peak and can now look forward. The past left very much where it should be. That old saying, a happy fighter, is a dangerous fighter, clearly applies here.
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