Women’s Ratings Update: Taylor returns to No. 2 at P4P after win over Cameron
It was one of the most anticipated fights of the year in boxing regardless of gender, and it delivered from beginning to end.
The Katie Taylor-Chantelle Cameron rematch generated huge expectations, and Taylor lived up to those with a memorable performance that earned her second Ring title and the adoration of her local fans.
“Cameron-Taylor II was one hell of a good fight,” said radio host and Ring correspondent Cynthia Conte. “It was a close fight. But overall, Taylor was able to adjust and look better than I’ve seen her in a long time.”
There were, obviously, caveats and objections coming from most of the panel regarding the infamous knockdown that wasn’t ruled as such and other irregularities, but Taylor’s guts-and-glory performance was not lost to anyone.
“What a fight!” said Lupi Gutierrez-Beagle before adding that “I watched what was said to be a foot step but I saw a knockdown.” Historian Malissa Smith said that this was “certainly the fight of the year. I was in the camp that saw Taylor’s confidence and calm as indicative of her resolve to win in her rematch against Cameron. Her performance was stellar, and not to take anything away from Cameron in the least who fought well. It’s just that Taylor had a little something extra to reclaim her dominance as a fighter and to satisfy herself as a warrior of the ring.”
The close scorecards gave some panel members some food for thought as well.
“With 20 years of experience, the referee missed the knockdown Cameron scored in the first round and allowed Taylor to hold excessively, which Cameron silently agreed to by falling in with the right hand after her jab wasn’t landing consistently, causing the fight to appear sloppy,” said columnist Mark Jones. “The 98-92 score by the Denmark-based judge was out of line, but a 95-95 and the 96-94 score in favor of Taylor were fair scores. It was an excellent win for Taylor.”
Japan’s Yuriko Miyata also said that “the ‘knockdown’ in the first round was too clear to be missed,” with Conte jumping back on the debate to say that “I have lots of issues with that terrible ref who never warned Taylor for clinching way too many times but would warn Cameron for every little thing. I personally believed that should’ve been ruled a KD when it was ruled a slip for Taylor. I had it a draw.”
A vote was taken, and it was decided unanimously that Taylor would become the new No. 2 pound-for-pound entrant, with Cameron dropping to No. 3.
Since Taylor is the new 140-pound champion and she remains the 135-pound champion as well, she will remain champion in both divisions until she either states her intention to remain in just one weight class or violates any of The Ring’s championship policies.
“I think we should give her a chance to keep both The Ring belts for the moment,” said editor and writer Irene Deserti, with columnist Christopher Benedict agreeing and even suggesting that Taylor should be placed higher in the pound-for-pound ratings.
“Katie Taylor defied the odds, her age, and her critics by putting on a brilliant performance in Dublin to avenge her loss to Chantelle Cameron and become a two-weight undisputed champion,” said Benedict, adding that “in my humble opinion anyway, she is the best pound for pound female fighter in the game today.”
A win in an eventual third fight against Cameron will certainly place her once again atop the mythical ranking that she ruled for so long. For now, congratulations to both fighters on a most memorable performance.
Diego M. Morilla writes for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.
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