This Is The Card Women's Boxing Deserves
Right then — Mayer vs Cameron on August 29 at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham is the sort of fight that should be shouted about a lot louder than it is being. Three world titles in one ring. Two champions who have both only just moved into the division. A card built entirely as UK against USA, bout by bout. Sky Sports here, ESPN+ over there. If you cannot get excited about that, I am not sure boxing is for you.
Mikaela Mayer comes in as the unified WBA and WBC champion at 22-2 with 5 knockouts. Chantelle Cameron holds the WBO belt at 22-1 with 8 knockouts. Both are making their first defence at 154lbs. Mayer has called it the female fight of the year and, for once, the promotional line is not overselling it.
Cameron Is Fighting At Home For A Reason
Make no mistake, Chantelle Cameron is a proper fighter and Northampton is close enough to Birmingham that this is a home fight in every sense that matters. She was undisputed at 140 and the one blemish on her record came in a rematch against Katie Taylor in Dublin, which is about as hostile a set of circumstances as the sport can arrange.
What Cameron does better than almost anyone in women's boxing is work rate under pressure. She does not just outland opponents, she outlasts them. She gets to the body, she leans in, and by round six she has usually broken the rhythm of whoever is in front of her. In a ten-round fight with two-minute rounds, that relentlessness is worth a lot of rounds on the cards.
Mayer's Jab Is The Key To The Whole Thing
Mayer is the taller, longer fighter and she has one of the better jabs in the sport, male or female. She is a proper technician who fights at range, controls distance with her lead hand, and racks up points without needing to trade. Her two losses have both been narrow and both came in fights she could argue she won.
The whole fight is this: can Mayer keep Cameron on the end of that jab for ten two-minute rounds, or does Cameron close the gap and turn it into a scrap? Short rounds help Mayer more than people think — two minutes is less time for Cameron to do her breaking-down work, and the bell arrives just as the pressure starts telling.
The Rest Of The Card Is Class
Underneath it, Caroline Dubois puts her unified lightweight titles on the line against America's Amelia Moore, which is a brilliant piece of matchmaking on a night already carrying a unification. Dubois is one of the most naturally gifted fighters in Britain and every appearance she makes moves her closer to being the face of the domestic scene.
There has been a bit of disruption too. Skye Nicolson was forced out of the card earlier this month with a training injury, with Tysie Gallagher stepping in on the main card. Losing a champion of Nicolson's standing hurts any bill, but three world title fights surviving on one show tells you how deep this card was built.
My Prediction
I am going with Chantelle Cameron on a close but clear decision — something like 97-93. I think the Birmingham crowd is worth something real, I think Cameron's engine is the single best attribute in the ring on the night, and I think the middle rounds are where she takes the fight away. Mayer will win the early rounds boxing beautifully and will still be in it at the end.
Do not miss this one. Three world titles, a partisan British crowd, and two fighters at the peak of what they do. That is a proper fight night.