CHANTELLE CAMERON is on a mission to have a fight as big as Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury.
Fresh off claiming her first major world title by defeating Brazil’s Adriana dos Santos Araujo for the WBC light-welterweight belt in October, Cameron is focused on one opponent in particular.
Undisputed lightweight champ Katie Taylor has long been her desired pro match-up since they met as amateurs in 2011.
As their reputations have grown, so has the clamour to see them face off again — and so much so that a potential bout is being dubbed the women’s Joshua vs Fury.
But as AJ and the Gypsy King look close to finally confirming a date in 2021, Eddie Hearn’s latest Matchroom capture is tired of chasing an uninterested Taylor.
Cameron, 29, said: “The fight is nowhere near being made. Right now, I don’t think it will ever happen.
“It is the dream fight for me and I am capable of winning it and taking her belts.
“But she won’t even acknowledge or talk about me.
“I won’t waste my energy chasing the fight she is clearly trying to avoid.
“It would be huge for women’s boxing and to even hear it compared to AJ vs Fury is great exposure for us. It would be a similar-sized fight, not just in Britain but in the world.”
Cameron is currently unbeaten in 13 professional fights, with seven knockouts.
Ireland’s Taylor, 34, has 17 pro bouts and six KOs.
But when Cameron lost on points to her as an amateur, she had just a dozen fights under her belt, compared to Taylor, who had multiple World and European Championship golds to her name.
Northampton’s Cameron added: “Of course she was going to beat me. I was a novice with very little experience.
“I am very honest, I wasn’t a great amateur. The style didn’t suit me.
“But I am a much better pro fighter — it’s a different ball game.
“Amateur Katie was untouchable but she is touchable now. She isn’t invincible.
“In the pros she is vulnerable. If you put it on her, she’s very beatable.”
Boxing has come under scrutiny in recent weeks following the revelations across sport of former professionals suffering from delayed brain traumas and early onset dementia.
England Rugby World Cup winner Steve Thompson, 42, is among a large group preparing to file a lawsuit against the RFU for failing to protect them during their careers.
Now critics and medical experts are looking at boxing.
Cameron argued: “We have brain scans every year to check there is no significant change.
“We are not getting into the ring with any damage to the brain. If there are concerns, we don’t box.
“Rugby is as intense as boxing. Sport is hard on the body if you put the training in and are competing at a high level.
“There are people who will criticise but we are looked after, mentally and physically.”
