Chantelle Cameron did not linger in celebration mode for long.
Fresh from a brutal, breathless points win over Mikaela Mayer in Birmingham, the newly crowned WBA, WBC and WBO super-welterweight world champion is already chasing the most dangerous name available: Claressa Shields.
Cameron’s statement win – and what comes next
At MPW-06 on Saturday night, Cameron edged a razor-close classic with Mayer, the judges scoring it 97-93, 97-93, 96-94 in her favour. It was the kind of fight that hardens reputations. Mayer pressed, Cameron answered, and over 10 intense rounds the English fighter imposed just enough of herself to leave no doubt on the cards.
The victory adds another layer to a résumé that already carries one of the defining results in modern women’s boxing: Cameron remains the only fighter to have beaten Katie Taylor in the Irish star’s professional career. That alone put her in elite company. Saturday’s belts simply confirmed what many already suspected – Cameron belongs in any conversation about the best of her era.
You might expect a rematch with Mayer to be the obvious next step. It was that good a fight. It was that close on the night.
Cameron has other ideas.
Dare to be great: eyes locked on Shields
Speaking to Sky Sports after the win, Cameron made it clear she wants the biggest challenge available – and that means the self-proclaimed “GWOAT”, Claressa Shields, the reigning WBC and WBA middleweight champion with a 19-0 record spread across multiple divisions.
“I fancy (fighting) Clarissa Shields. I think I really do want to dare to be great and Clarissa Shields, she's the GWOAT, she's number one and that's going to be a fight that will just be unbelievable," Cameron said.
This is not idle talk. According to Cameron, negotiations are already well beyond the exploratory stage.
"The teams are actually in talks for that now so there is actually movement on that fight and for me that makes me giddy because I think that really is me challenging the very, very best and what an opportunity if this fight comes off.
“They (talks) are very advanced; it is moving pretty quick is what my managers told me, and it is a very high possibility the fight will happen."
From Mayer to Shields. From a thriller in Birmingham to a potential era-defining showdown. Cameron is not easing into her new status; she is sprinting towards the most formidable champion available.
The Shields puzzle: Cameron or Price?
Shields, though, has her own options.
When she dismantled Kaye Scott in six rounds in August to reclaim her middleweight belts, the American made it clear she liked the idea of facing Lauren Price next, targeting a date between December and January. Price has welcomed that prospect, and the matchup has already stirred interest on both sides of the Atlantic.
Dmitriy Salita, Shields’ promoter, sees that fight – and by extension any Shields blockbuster – as an event built for the biggest stage.
"Claressa came down to middleweight to make the biggest fights possible," Salita told Sky Sports. "We want to make this a mega-event, and I believe that fight belongs in the United States.
“That being said, we love the UK, and another fight there is certainly not out of the question. It's an incredible time for women's boxing."
So the picture is clear, if not yet resolved. Shields has a potential clash with Price on the table. Cameron has stormed into the conversation with three belts at super-welter and a willingness to jump into the deep end against the sport’s most decorated active champion.
Talks, Cameron insists, are “very advanced”. The momentum is real. The question now is simple: when the dust settles on negotiations, will Claressa Shields be staring across the ring at Lauren Price – or at a surging Chantelle Cameron daring to be great on the biggest stage of all?
