Katie Taylor relishes her Irish homecoming against Chantelle Cameron
Katie Taylor emerged as a hero in her native Ireland after winning a gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics.
She became iconic there when she became the face of women’s boxing worldwide, building a perfect record of 22-0 (6 KOs) over her six-plus-year professional career.
That’s what makes her fight against Chantelle Cameron on Saturday (DAZN) so special: It will be her first pro fight in Ireland.
She has fought only in bigger markets in the U.K. and U.S., where she has lived and trained. The fight on Saturday will be at 3Arena in Dublin, not far from her hometown of Bray.
“This is something that I wanted for a long time,” Taylor told ESPN. “I was expressing my desire for years to actually fight [at] home in Ireland. And because all the fights were in the U.K. or the U.S., I guess I got discouraged along the way thinking it wasn’t going to happen.
“But now we’re here, we’re getting ready for a big, huge fight and I’m so grateful.”
And she didn’t select an easy mark for her homecoming, as Canelo Alvarez arguably did when he chose to fight John Ryder recently in Mexico.
Taylor was originally set to face rival Amanda Serrano but Serrano pulled out with an injury. Cameron more or less saved the event by stepping in.
And if Cameron (17-0, 8 KOs) is a step down from Serrano, it’s a small step. She’ll be defending her undisputed 140-pound championship. Taylor fought once at 140, winning a title in 2019, but she has fought the rest of her career at 135.
Taylor is seen as a better boxer than Cameron, who is from the U.K. However, the champion is the naturally bigger, stronger fighter.
That’s why Taylor is only about a 1½-1 favorite to win. This is a genuine challenge for her.
“She didn’t seem that interested in taking a fight for the sake of taking a fight,” said Taylor’s brother, Peter. “You know what I mean. The fight had to represent progress to her, and that’s just her personality. I think she’s always just looking for progress, so I think she was worried for a couple days.
“She knew she wanted somebody really, really good. She wanted a big name.”
Taylor got both of her wishes. She’ll be performing at home for the first time since she was teen-aged amateur. And it will be in one of the most important fights of her career.
It might be the biggest night of her life.
“This is absolutely huge for me,” Taylor said. “This is what I wanted all along really. We’re bringing big-time boxing back to Ireland for the first time in a long time.”
