Chantelle Cameron added the WBC and WBA junior middleweight belts to the WBO title she already owned when she unanimously outpointed Mikaela Mayer over 10 exciting rounds in Birmingham, England.
The scores, which told the right story, were 97-93 (twice) and 96-94.
Mayer’s jab was pinpoint in the early going. Her movement, too, was hard to fault as she circled Cameron rather than moving forward in straight lines. Cameron was reduced to potshotting in the opening two rounds.
Mayer, who like her opponent is one of the best fighters in the entire women’s code, had been unlucky on the cards in the past and seemed aware of that in these opening exchanges.
There was the defeat to Alycia Baumgardner which could have gone her way in 2022. Two years later came the contentious defeat to Natasha Jonas, again over 10-twos.
But Mayer decided against staying bitter for too long. Only this week, when greeted with Baumgardner teasing her with questions at the pre-fight press conference, the 36-year-old alluded to being grateful for those bumps in the road.
She’d learned from them, not been beaten by them, she promised.
But tonight, she found it difficult to contain what has always come naturally.
Cameron, the underdog, continued to maraud forward in the third to awaken Mayer’s instinct to fight. It worked, at least to a degree, as Mayer’s head was rocked back by a right hand as she looked to land a blow of her own.
The Briton was not only back in the fight but giving the appearance of being in control. She clumped the American veteran with a left in the fourth before raiding with purpose to the body. It was far from one-way traffic, though. Mayer responded with a right hook but one sensed that her obvious desire to make a dent in her opponent was only benefitting Cameron.
The fifth was exciting as both had their moments. Mayer’s earlier effectiveness, though, had been replaced by a desire to have a scrap. It made for a fascinating spectacle as they traded blows, with Cameron’s attacks to the body seemingly keeping her ahead.
Mayer rallied in the sixth but a crunching right, in the second and last minute of the session, drew blood from the favorite’s nose. The seventh, however, looked to be a better round for the American, one she surely won on the cards as she briefly returned to boxing from distance.
After a fiery eighth, in which Cameron hooked Mayer backwards more than once, the home fighter’s nose seeped blood in the ninth before a right hook opened a cut next to her left eye. Even so, Cameron’s aggression looked to be keeping her ahead.
The 10th carried a similar theme. Cameron forcing the pace, Mayer fighting back as and when she could. It was a terrific fight.
In chief-support, Caroline Dubois improved to 14-0-1 (5 KOs) when she outpointed Amelia Moore, 4-0-1, over 10 rounds.
The difference in class between them was gaping, and obvious from the get-go.
Dubois, who retained her lightweight belts, won by three scores of 100-88. She dropped Moore in the fifth round with a left hand as Baumgardner, who was watching Dubois on a “scouting mission”, sat at ringside.
