Chantelle Cameron says Katie Taylor is stalling on negotiations for a trilogy between them.
Cameron (18-1, 8 KOs) and Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs) fought two great fights in Dublin in May and November of last year. Cameron won the first fight by majority decision and Taylor got his revenge in the second fight, taking the undisputed super lightweight title from Cameron.
A third fight between the two was expected but Cameron, 32, claims Taylor, 37, and her team were reluctant to cooperate.
“I have agreed to a massive purse cut to secure funding for this fight as I was told it was a hold-up on the agreed fight,” Cameron said on social media.
“The reason is I wanted to create my own legacy. Now it seems like Katie is going to take the fight in a ‘keep busy’ way and avoid me because I think she knows that certain things that went her way in the last fight won’t happen again.
“I apologize to true boxing fans who wanted to see this fight, but the failure of the trilogy is the fault of Katie and her team, not me.”
Cameron then responded to the “rumors” she had heard and gave her version of events.
“I was offered a trilogy at a significantly reduced price, but I declined because it was extremely low,” she said. “I offered a reasonable price, which was rejected. Then I lowered it to make the fight happen. As of this morning, (Matchroom) and DAZN are looking to do a trilogy, so there’s only one side behind it.
“Katie Taylor and her team are putting on one of the biggest fights in women’s boxing history… For the first fight, I was called by Katie Taylor and I agreed to terms within 48 hours. Let’s make it as elementary as it was then. I’m ready to sign the contract now (Katie).”
There’s a good chance Taylor could sell out Dublin’s Croke Park – her long-awaited dream venue for a professional fight – to almost anyone, but the Cameron bout really does feel like unfinished business and represents a showdown between two top-tier, proven pound-for-pound competitors.
Taylor’s other financial option would be a rematch with Amanda Serrano, but Serrano’s fight just got canceled due to an eye issue and it appears she’ll continue to fight at featherweight, while Taylor currently weighs 140 pounds. We’re talking 14 pounds, a three-division difference. Serrano’s rematch was signed for 2023, but Serrano pulled out and that’s how the first Taylor vs. Cameron fight happened.