Having achieved undisputed glory, Chantelle Cameron feels as if she is now playing with house money. Or at least, there is far less pressure as she approaches her showdown with Mikaela Mayer this Saturday.

The Northampton woman caused a major upset when she dethroned Katie Taylor in 2023, only to experience the devastation of a true competitor after losing their rematch.

This remains the only defeat of her professional career, and despite it coming against an all-time great, Cameron could hardly begin to process the cruel reality of not having her hand raised.

But since then, the two-weight world champion tells Boxing News that she has come to terms with the mantra of ‘whatever happens, happens’, and that anything she achieves from here on out is a bonus.

“If you’re a high-level athlete, losing is the worst thing that can happen. But now I realise that losing isn’t the be all and end all.

“I’m glad I had that loss, because I feel like loads of pressure is off my shoulders. I can just enjoy boxing now, and I think that’s making me a little more dangerous because I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ve already achieved what I wanted to achieve.”

Since losing to Taylor, Cameron has worked with top trainers Grant Smith and Stephen ‘Swifty’ Smith but, eventually, it seemed that absence only made her heart grow fonder.

As a result, she reunited with Jamie Moore and Nigel Travis ahead of her last outing, a unanimous decision victory over Michaela Kotaskova in April, and has now permanently based herself in Manchester.

“I’m so much happier. I’ve actually got a house up here now, so I feel way more settled. And I just love Jamie and Nigel; they’re like my family.

“Boxing’s more than just fighting. Because it’s such a hard sport, you want to be around people you love, and that’s something I learned after leaving Jamie and Nigel.

“It’s not all about becoming a better boxer technically, physically and emotionally – you want to be doing it with people that you genuinely love the bones of.”

With Moore and Travis back in her corner, Cameron claimed the WBO welterweight strap in her first contest over 10 three-minute rounds.

The 35-year-old was therefore keen to face Mayer over the same scheduled distance, having gained a firm idea of how to pace herself during the longer rounds.

With WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman refusing to sanction three-minute round bouts in women’s boxing, though, the pair will instead collide for Mayer’s unified super-welterweight crown over a scheduled 10 twos.

Reflecting on her last performance, Cameron views it as a valuable learning experience to prepare her for future fights.

“I loved it. I was scared of burning out, because obviously I’d never done three-minute rounds and, on fight night, you burn way more energy through nerves and adrenaline. But I’m glad I’ve ticked it off and I will be going back to three-minute rounds after [the Mayer fight].

“That’s why I’m disappointed to not be fighting Mayer over three-minute rounds because, now I’ve done it, I know I can fight at a higher pace.”

While conceding a request of two-minute rounds at the negotiating table, Cameron did manage to successfully push for a catchweight of 148lbs.

Mayer’s WBC, WBO and WBA 154lb titles, however, will nonetheless be up for grabs when they lock horns in Birmingham.

Terence Crawford has been praised as a generational great following his retirement, but one Hall of Fame legend believes ‘Bud’ would not have had such success if he had competed in his era.

Crawford defeated Julius Indongo, Errol Spence Jr and Canelo Alvarez in a trifecta of undisputed title fight wins at super-lightweight, welterweight and super-middleweight respectively, cementing his place as the pound-for-pound king and as an all-time-great.

Another man that was viewed as one of the pound-for-pound stars in the past was James Toney, who became a three-division world champion by claiming titles at middleweight, super-middleweight and cruiserweight.

During that time he overcame the likes of Mike McCallum, Iran Barkley and Michael Nunn in a sensational 92-fight career, leading to his Hall of Fame induction in 2022.

Speaking to About Boxing‘Lights Out’ Toney admitted that even though he loves to watch Crawford, he doubted whether he, or fighters such as David Benavidez, would have been able to compete during ‘his era’.

“No fighter from this era could fight in my era, but I love some of these fighters. I love watching Crawford, [David] Benavidez, I love watching them fight but you know what? I am being real with you, [they could not fight in my era].”

Whilst Crawford has hung up the gloves, Benavidez is expected to return to action on Saturday, December 12, against WBC Interim cruiserweight champion Michal Cieslakin what could become a unification bout if the WBC decide to strip Noel Mikaelian of the full title before his clash with Jai Opetaia.

Teofimo Lopez could soon be ordered to face his mandatory challenger after dethroning Rolando Romero with a majority decision victory last weekend.

While the scorecards would suggest otherwise, many considered Lopez a clear winner against ‘Rolly’, who was making a first defence of his WBA welterweight title.

Besides round five, when he was seriously hurt by a Romero right hand, ‘The Takeover’ remained in control for the vast majority of their contest.

As such, he became a three-division world champion in his first outing at 147lbs, despite coming off a wide unanimous decision defeat to Shakur Stevenson in January.

But while Lopez has expressed an interest in unification matchesagainst the likes of Devin Haney and winner of Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn, he may need to pump the breaks and accommodate a mandatory obligation.

This is because Jack Catterall, who claimed the WBA ‘regular’ strap against Shakhram Giyasov in May, is due to secure his shot at the full world title by November 19.

Taking to social media on Sunday, the British welterweight offered a reminder of his position.

“I understand the politics of boxing better than most. Rolly had a voluntary [defence]now it’s time for my shot! No ducks, no more swerving. Me v Teo next.”

180 days @WBABoxing which means November ✅ I understand the politics of boxing better than most. Rolly had a voluntary now it’s time for my shot ! No ducks no more swerving. Me v teo next https://t.co/zEIX6GTggc

— Jack Catterall (@jack_catt93) August 23, 2026

The WBA did, indeed, offer Romero a grace period to face Lopez, but only under the condition that its champion would need to make a mandatory title defence within 180 days after Catterall’s clash with Giyasov.

In theory, then, Lopez’ next fight must take place against Catterall, yet it remains to be seen whether the WBA will uphold its own ruling.