Katie Taylor’s homecoming fight in Ireland on May 20 has a new opponent — undisputed junior welterweight champion Chantel Cameron, a source told ESPN on Saturday.
Cameron, ESPN’s No. 7 pound-for-pound fighter, will now fight Taylor, Bray, Ireland’s undisputed lightweight champion and ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter at the 3Arena in Dublin.
The fight is for Cameron’s undisputed junior welterweight title, meaning Taylor will move up in weight.
Taylor had previously won the WBO junior welterweight title once in 2019 when she defeated Cristina Linardato. After Amanda Serrano pulled out of the fight last month with a hand injury, she is now moving up in weight to fight Cameron again.
Taylor and Cameron – both promoted by Matchroom Boxing – each posted on Instagram last week about the possibility, saying they wanted to fight and strike a deal. A little over a week later, it has been announced.
Taylor, 36, has never fought as a professional in Ireland after an extraordinary amateur career that included a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. Taylor is one of Ireland’s biggest sporting stars, but now lives in Connecticut to do her training.
Taylor (22-0, 6 KOs) last fought in October when she defeated Karen Elizabeth Carbajal at Wembley Arena in the United Kingdom. He and Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn stated that they wanted their next fight to take place in Ireland.
After the Carabajal battle Herne said, “Now is the time to return to Ireland.” “Whoever it is against, the next fight is with Ireland.” It was expected to be Serrano – the Taylor–Serrano rematch was announced after Serrano’s victory over Erika Cruz on February 4 in New York City – but then Serrano had to pull out. There was hope that they would still be able to hold a date for Taylor to Ireland, and Cameron stepped in.
The Taylor-Serrano fight was also expected to take place in Croke Park, Dublin, but that plan fell through. When Taylor-Serrano was postponed, both Taylor’s and Serrano’s teams stated that they would discuss rescheduling the fight.
The 31-year-old Cameron (17-0, 8 KOs) last fought in November, when she defeated Jessica McCaskill to become the undisputed junior welterweight champion in Abu Dhabi. This would be Cameron’s first defense of his Undisputed Title.
