SHE came, she saw she was being overlooked but she conquered Katie Taylor in May anyway and, although she didn’t want to come back, it’ll be veni-vidi-vici once again on November 25, says Chantelle Cameron.
Jamie Moore’s undisputed super-lightweight champion arrived in Dublin for the pre-fight press conference looking relaxed and in good humour. It was a different Cameron from the nervous, shy fighter who made the trip earlier this year.
“I've got that confidence now because I've done it and now I've got to make sure that I come and do the job again, but in a better fashion,” she said.
“Obviously the judges were very fair last time and I'm hoping they'll get that treatment again. So yeah, I'm confident. To be honest I don't think I boxed that great (first time), so I know that there's more to come and I think that the exciting thing is I'm going to be a lot better on the night, so I'm looking forward to getting that performance in.
“I'm never over-confident, you can't be in boxing and I'm never complacent either. If anything I'm hungrier because obviously I've got to come and prove my point again and, to be honest, I'm glad it’s back in Dublin.
“I wanted it to be on neutral ground, so I feel like I've got a bit more spite in me now and I've got more to prove, so it's just kind of lit a little fire in me that wasn't there the first time.”
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Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn admitted that having the rematch on neutral ground would have been fair but professional boxing is all about the bottom line and, when the numbers were crunched, a return to Dublin was the best financial option.
Cameron says she expected Taylor to trigger the rematch clause in their contract after her first ever professional loss. Taylor has vowed to adjust and be better but her English opponent warns she will bring more too.
“I just I know I can be better,” she said.
“I've kind of proven myself. No-one was expecting me to win and every boxer has doubts and stuff. When I first went to Jamie he was like, basically you can beat Katie Taylor and I kind of thought he was just waffling a bit.
“But I've done it and I've proved everyone wrong, I even kind of shocked myself. So now I think I've got a good few fights left in me where I can really come through and show people what I'm about. I think I'm just getting better and better.”
According to Hearn, pre-sale bookings for the rematch are better for the rematch than for the first fight. He predicts it will sell out “really quickly” and given the impressive manner of her win last time, Cameron is now the favourite. Should Taylor make the fast start she failed to make in May the English camp feel they have a better chance of catching up with her – maybe even stopping her – later in the fight.
“I'm not looking for the stoppage because I think that's when you get a bit complacent and start losing it,” said Cameron.
“I never go looking for the stoppage but what we're working on in the gym is we’re definitely changing a few of my shots, so we'll see what happens.”
