Chantelle Cameron began 2022 firmly on the street to undisputed within the ladies’s super-lightweight division.
By this level within the yr, the 31-year-old would have hoped to have joined the likes of Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields, Jessica McCaskill and Franchón Crews-Dezurn in finishing a clear sweep of all 4 main world titles in her weight class.
However the Northampton fighter has endured an agonising wait. Final October she beat Mary McGee to unify the WBC, IBF and Ring Journal titles. It left her on collision course with WBA and WBO champion Kali Reis who picked up the latter of these belts with victory over Jessica Camara in November.
The combat by no means got here nevertheless a lot to the exasperation of Cameron, who has misplaced sponsors and extra importantly, momentum, whereas ready for what was meant to be the largest combat of her life.
‘It’s been very irritating, very annoying to be trustworthy,’ Cameron informed . ‘It has delayed my profession and set me again. It has been fairly garbage.
‘I don't know why we haven’t had the combat made but. No medical stories, no clarification, completely nothing. However I do want her [Reis] all the perfect. No matter is occurring, well being is extra necessary than boxing on the finish of the day and I do hope she is okay.
‘For me, it might have been good to have that understanding of what's taking place. A timeline, perhaps, preserving me within the loop. However I used to be left to my very own units, and it has affected my profession fairly a bit.
‘I went below the radar, misplaced sponsors, not been energetic. I had momentum and now I'm having to get that again once more.’
Cameron, who has gained all 15 of her skilled fights, can take out a few of that frustration on Victoria Noelia Bustos when she returns to the ring on the Joshua Buatsi vs Craig Richards undercard tonight.
It isn't the combat she needed, however one that can provide a helpful exercise having been left on the sidelines for over six months.
Her Argentine opponent is a two-weight world champion herself, having fought Katie Taylor and Cecilia Braekhus throughout the final 4 years.
‘I've received to get the win to maintain transferring ahead,’ Cameron mentioned.
‘I didn’t need to take an interim combat and simply tackle anybody. It needed to be a very good take a look at for me. I’m not going to get higher if I simply take simple fights in opposition to folks simply turning up.
‘I picked Victoria as a result of I do know she is hard, she has boxed everybody, she has by no means been stopped and is a former two-weight world champion so it made good sense to problem myself and present folks I'm at this degree.’
Fights to crown an undisputed world champion symbolize probably the most prestigious events within the sport however Cameron’s journey illustrates simply how exhausting the method could be. What was meant to be a transparent pathway stays affected by obstacles.
She hopes for readability within the coming weeks and months and with ladies’s boxing delivering a few of the largest fights within the sport this yr, Cameron hopes her showdown with Reis will mark one other enormous night time.
‘For those who had requested me final yr, I might have been so optimistic about preventing for undisputed. However you know the way it's, life is stuffed with ups and downs and issues got here crumbling down.
‘It's all ups and downs in boxing. Nothing is obvious crusing, however I've had sufficient of the downs, I'm able to for a clean path to the highest.’
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