Katie Taylor will have to enter her second straight trilogy if she wants to keep her undisputed championship reign intact.
BoxingScene confirmed that the WBC has ordered a 140lbs title consolidation bout between Ireland’s Taylor, 25-1 (6 KOs), and England’s Chantelle Cameron, 21-1 (8 KOs). Both parties were formally informed earlier this month and instructed to enter talks for what will be a third meeting between the pair of pound-for-pound entrants.
Taylor is the lineal, WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO junior welterweight champion and is promoted by Matchroom Boxing. Cameron holds the WBC interim title at 140lbs and is now with Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), after previous stints with Matchroom and Queensberry Promotions.
“The WBC Women’s Championship Committee hereby orders the WBC Women’s [140lbs] championship,” WBC Women’s Championship chairman Malte Muller-Michaels informed Matchroom and MVP in an official ruling obtained by BoxingScene. “We hereby kindly ask you to start free negotiations to find an agreement regarding the conditions (date, place, purses, etc.) for this important fight.”
The two sides have until August 28 at noon to reach a deal. Otherwise, a purse bid hearing will take place on that date and time from WBC headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico.
Taylor and Cameron have lost only to each other.
Cameron won their first meeting in May 2023 on the road at 3Arena in Dublin. The bout marked Taylor’s first-ever pro fight in her home country, a night originally reserved for an undisputed lightweight championship rematch with Amanda Serrano.
Plans changed when Serrano did not heal in time from prior injuries, at which point Taylor opted to move up in weight to take a shot at Cameron’s fully unified 140lbs crown. Cameron prevailed via majority decision to ruin Taylor’s homecoming.
Taylor – a 2012 Olympic gold medalist – avenged the defeat six months later via majority decision at the very same venue to become a two-division undisputed champion. She subsequently relinquished her 135lbs titles and twice successfully defended her 140lbs crown.
Both wins came against Serrano, and on Netflix. Taylor outpointed the Boricua southpaw via unanimous decision in their rematch last November at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. She repeated the feat on July 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the site of their first fight, won by Taylor in a split decision in their April 2022 instant classic.
Cameron has won three straight since her second bout with Taylor. Her first fight back came with the WBC interim 140lbs title at stake, which she claimed in a 10-round majority decision win over Elhem Mekhaled. She enjoyed more decisive victories in title defenses against Patricia Berghult and Jessica Camara.
The latter bout took place on the Taylor-Serrano III undercard, after which point Cameron placed her focus squarely on facing Taylor a third time.
Taylor was initially dismissive of the matchup, challenging Cameron to instead prove she can carry her own card and bring something to the table to make the fight even bigger.
That dynamic has now greatly changed with the WBC’s recent ruling.
