Former world champion aims to regain her crowns.
Northampton’s Chantelle Cameron (19-1, 8KO) faces former world champion Patricia Berghult (17-1, 4KO) this weekend in Birmingham on a Queensberry Promotions event topped by Liam Davies vs Shabaz Masoud, live on TNT Sports.
The 33-year-old boxing star spoke exclusively to SportsBoom just days before her 21st fight on November 2nd.
It’s ‘Il Capo’ Cameron’s second fight under the Queensberry banner, having conquered Elhem Mekhaled for the WBC Interim super-lightweight title in her promotional debut earlier in July.
It’s also her second fight with trainer Grant Smith in the corner, having switched from Jamie Moore following her sole defeat to Katie Taylor in their November 2023 rematch. They split amicably after four fruitful years together and now the two-weight world champion is enjoying he spell in the Steel City Gym with Smith.
“Yeah, it’s been really good,” she enthused. “I’ve had more time with Grant so more time to gel and get used to each other, so yes, really good, been brilliant just getting used to each other, seeing how each other works.”
In their first fight together, they won the WBC Interim super-lightweight strap with a mixed decision win against a former European champion who held the super-featherweight version of the Interim belt in 2019. Two of the scores were widely awarded to the Brit at 99-92 and 98-92, but one judge saw it as a draw, which wasn’t entirely reflective of the dominant performance that saw Cameron land copious uppercuts and bounteous big hooks.
However, ‘Il Capo’ was awarded the win along with the WBC title that’s bestowed to a world champion in waiting, while the full world title is held up due to other circumstances, in this case, the impending fight in November between the undisputed champion Katie Taylor and rival Amanda Serrano.
“Hopefully it’s gonna be a bargaining tool to cement my mandatory spot, so that next year I can claim my belts back.”
“In professional boxing, you can’t put a timestamp on anything because anything can happen, so just got to be patient, sit back and let my team do their job. My job is to fight and beat who’s in front of me and everything apart from that is down to my team,” Cameron told SportsBoom.com.
In May this year, Cameron was released from her contract with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, having first signed in July 2020, and immediately put pen to paper with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren, a move that she has been extremely happy with.
“Very happy,” she confirmed. “It was a great move for me at the perfect time and I’m being really well looked after, so I think it was a blessing that I made that change, at a crucial point in my career as well. I don’t think my manager [Anthony Fitzpatrick] could have planned it any better for me. He moved me at the perfect time.”
Her forthcoming opponent is a former WBC and IBO World super-welterweight champion who lost her latest title in a unification match with WBO beltholder Natasha Jonas in 2022. Now 30-years-old, the Swedish No.1 has won both her comeback fights since the only defeat of her nine-year pro career. A consummate professional, Cameron is not underestimating her opponent despite being the defending champion with the home advantage.
“I respect every fighter, anyone I step in the ring with, so I would never disrespect anyone,” the bookies’ favourite affirmed.
“I’m on a mission to get my belts back, so whoever stands in front of me, I’ve got to go through them, so I don’t really look at what they’ve done, what they’ve achieved, I’ve just got to focus on what I can do and where I want to be, and I know that I want to be back on top.”
Just one year ago, Chantelle Cameron was on the top of the world as the reigning undisputed world super-lightweight champion with a win over a future Hall of Famer and Irish superstar Katie Taylor. But a narrow mixed decision defeat in their thrilling November 2023 rematch saw the East Midlander drop from champion back down to contender, and subsequently at the bottom of the mountain once more, in her own words.
“I’m on a mission. I was at the top of the tree, and I’ve come tumbling down. Now I know where I want to be again, so I’m hungrier than ever. I’m hungrier now than I was before I become undisputed. I want it more than ever.
“I was on top of the mountain beating Katie Taylor the first time; it was such a massive achievement. And obviously when we had the rematch and I lost that, it set me back. I lost the belts and now I’ve got to force my hand to Katie or Amanda Serrano if she beats Katie; I’ve got to force that against her to get a shot at my titles.”
“So now I know where I stand and it’s going to be a lot harder for me to get my redemption than it would be for anyone else really.”
“It’s pretty shit, not gonna lie. Since last November, it has been very hard, but I can’t be miserable about it, there’s no point in moaning or being a bad loser; I am a bad loser, I think any boxer isn’t a good loser; like, why would you do this sport at all if you were a good loser?”
Despite her insistence over how fiercely she intends to win her titles back, there’s something even bigger that she desires more.
It’s actually payback that is first and foremost for the vengeful fighter, “I want my redemption against Katie. If I say that I want my titles back more, I’d be lying to myself. I couldn’t care less about the belts, I want my revenge on Katie Taylor. Honestly, I can’t lie.”