Chantelle Cameron has no intention of playing supporting act when Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano complete their trilogy at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. Re-tooled under new trainer Stephen “Swifty” Smith and backed by MVP Promotions, the former undisputed super-lightweight queen says her 10-rounder with Canada’s Jessica Camara is about kicking the door back in for a rubber match with Taylor.
Cameron’s WBC interim belt may secure ranking leverage, but it won’t guarantee headlines. The Northampton star, 20-1 (8 KOs), insists only a dominant and preferably destructive display will keep her name on every post-fight tongue. “People need to leave the Garden saying, ‘Did you see Cameron?’” she told UK media this week. “I’ve got to drop the hammer from the first bell.”
Camara, 14-4-1 (3 KOs), proved durable against Caroline Dubois before a cut ended their January bout, and she relishes upsetting Cameron’s trilogy dreams. Yet the 34-year-old Brit believes the Canadian’s resilience is the perfect canvas for a statement. “If I can’t blast her out like Dubois nearly did, then I have to out-class her - show levels, traps, timing, everything we’ve worked on with Swifty.”
With Taylor-Serrano officially 2-0 on paper but razor-close in the court of opinion, MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian has already floated Taylor-Cameron III as the next UK-Ireland blockbuster. Cameron knows Friday’s performance will either fuel that momentum or shove her further from the fight she craves. *“A shut-out is the minimum; a stoppage is the goal. I don’t plan on leaving my future to the scorecards - or the soundbites - of anyone else.”
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