Chantelle Cameron has been itching to fight Jessica McCaskill since 2017 and now, as two champions, they will finally square off on November 5, writes Elliot Worsell.
ALTHOUGH she has never been one to raise her voice, stamp her feet or demand things out of character, it is fair to say that Chantelle Cameron, holder of the WBC and IBF super lightweight belt, has had an opponent in mind. ideal for the better part of five years and has been hoping, fingers crossed, that one day they would share a ring.
Much to his relief, that ideal opponent will now become his next opponent, with a fight between Cameron and Jessica McCaskill announced late last week. They will fight at super lightweight (not welterweight, a division in which McCaskill is champion), on November 5 in Abu Dhabi and Cameron, who enters the fight as champion, is relieved to finally get the duel she has always wanted and, Plus, get it at a time that makes the most sense, both commercially and in terms of rewards.
“It goes back a long way,” Cameron said of his connection to McCaskill, 12-2 (5). “It goes back to when I turned pro. I had five fights and she had just boxed Katie Taylor. Her and her trainer (Rick Ramos) were on Twitter doing what they do best, ranting and raving, and trying to fight, and I wanted to fight her right then. But I was with a different team back then and they didn’t want me to go down that road. They wanted her to fight (Maïva) Hamadouche, Delfine Persoon. They were the kind of opponents who were looking at her place.
“Obviously McCaskill went on to win world titles at 140 pounds, and I won a fight to become her mandatory, so I thought I’d end up fighting her. We planned to fight McCaskill about two and a half years ago, but she left and ended up fighting (Cecilia) Brækhus. I knew then that our paths would not cross, but now, thankfully, they have. It also happened at the right time because if we had boxed back then, when I first turned pro, it would only have been for an IBO belt. Even when McCaskill won the WBC title at 140 pounds, it wouldn’t have been much of a fight. Now, however, we are fighting for the undisputed title. We’re both going to get the most out of this fight.”
Cameron’s hope is that the winner of her fight with McCaskill on November 5 can go on and fight Katie Taylor sometime next year. That would be a rematch in McCaskill’s case, of course, while for Cameron it would be the biggest fight of her career to date.
Until then, he has his sights firmly set on McCaskill, someone who, in truth, has been a fighter he has watched for several years.
“It was her style,” Cameron said when asked to point out what made the American such an attractive potential opponent. “I really respect her style. I think she is a great fighter. She is tough, she is stubborn. She is an opponent that turns me on. I think we can put on a great show for the fans. She will be there until the end and she is relentless. It was a fight that she wanted to be a part of.
“I think our styles will make for a really good, fan-friendly fight. That’s why I’m looking forward to it and why I’ve wanted this fight for a long time.”
With McCaskill comes his trainer, Rick Ramos, someone active and outspoken on social media and a character that Cameron, for better or worse, has become familiar with. Hers will be a voice that Cameron will first ignore and then seek to silence when she and McCaskill come to blows in the desert later this year.
“I think that’s his style,” Cameron said of Ramos. “He likes to be loud and active on social media. My impression is that he likes to stir the pot a bit and talk trash. But, for me, it is strictly a business. I’m not going to be on Twitter going back and forth with everything he said, she said.
“Coaches talking a lot on Twitter and Instagram is crazy. They are not going to be the ones fighting in the ring. They are supposed to prepare their fighter. They don’t need to be complaining on Twitter.
“I think it’s actually a bit silly, but everyone has their own style. I’m glad Jamie (Moore) and Nigel (Travis) aren’t like that. They never fight on social networks and I am the same. We are all very professional.”
It goes without saying that each boxer is different, each boxer’s motivation for fighting is different, and the route they take to find their motivation tends to be different for each boxer as well. Some will find motivation from within, while others will find it from within a rivalry, fueled by needle, animosity, and sometimes even hatred.
For Cameron, though, there’s no need to create a grudge to get her out of bed in the morning.
“I don’t hold a grudge against McCaskill,” he said. “I respect her for what she has done. She has had a good career. For my part there is only respect, but they can try to pressure me, I don’t know. They will be arguing with themselves if they do. I will not rise to the occasion. I’m not going to go into all of that.
“If they want to bypass me, that’s their problem. But I’m not overlooking Jessica. I know I have a tough fight on my hands and it’s strictly business for me. I won’t be on Twitter going back and forth. For me, it is a fight that has to be won. I don’t have the energy for all that. All the energy I have will go into training to make sure I have the best performance of my career.”
In terms of what the best performance of his career will look like, it’s something Cameron, 16-0 (8), has been envisioning for many years. In the gym and at home, he envisions how their respective styles will blend into the night, and envisions how his best attributes will exploit the weaknesses he’s spotted in McCaskill over the years. He then imagines, ultimately, his hand going up at the end of the fight.
“I think you’ll be surprised when you feel how strong I am,” Cameron said. “I also think I’m a better boxer, I’m faster, I’m sharper and I have Game A, Game B and Game C, while she knows one thing and one thing only. That’s pretty easy for me to figure out. I can mix it up and change game plans, but I don’t think she has that in her toolbox.”
