Chantelle Cameron: “I feel the good times are about to happen again.”

Chantelle Cameron: “I feel the good times are about to happen again.”

In this modern era, that old happy fighter is a dangerous fighter quote gets rolled out far too often. It is an overused phrase, but there are times when it impeccably applies. An accurate assessment of where a fighter is in their career. It could quite easily apply to Chantelle Cameron right now. But maybe more accurately, Cameron is a fighter at peace. At least in some ways.

Yes, there is unfinished business with Katie Taylor. That story has been well told. One win apiece. A trilogy, that if money is kept out of the narrative, makes far more sense than one that we will get in just over a week’s time at Madison Square Garden. Ironically, the same date and location where Cameron will make her next ring walk. Cameron wants Taylor again. I’m not sure Taylor or her team wants Cameron again. There lies the problem.

But elsewhere, with things that she can control, Cameron has found peace. That inner peace comes with happiness, and as that old saying goes, it makes her a dangerous fighter.

The career of Chantelle Cameron hasn’t always been this way. A fighter often swimming against the tide. A fighter searching for the limelight and the attention that often went elsewhere. But finally, the stars have aligned, and Cameron appears to have found what she has been looking for the past eighteen months or so. Maybe even longer than that.

2024 was a disappointing year for the former undisputed world super-lightweight champion. The big fights were not available. A year of staying busy. Staying relevant. Trying to force down doors that were seemingly always slammed shut in her face. Cameron tried to make things work with a new promoter and trainer. It just didn’t work out for her. There was no bitterness or malice when Cameron sought pastures new. An amicable parting of the ways. A mutual split that was full of class and more.

If 2024 wasn’t what Cameron would have hoped for, 2025 could be everything and more. A new promoter. A new trainer. The Northampton fighter suddenly found hope when all was apparently lost.

Cameron is now promotionally aligned with Jake Paul and his Most Valuable Promotions. Where others have lost interest, Paul has seen something else. An investment of time and money that couldn’t have come at a better time for the female side of the sport. Has Jake Paul saved women’s boxing? Maybe not, but it might not be that much of a stretch to say that he has.

Paul is signing almost every available female talent. It’s some stable of fighters. It will only get bigger. And better. Where not so long ago, Chantelle Cameron couldn’t find a meaningful fight, that most certainly isn’t the case now. She is in the land of make-believe no longer.

Despite everything that Jake Paul and his profile bring to the table, it’s the hook-up with Stephen Smith that, in many ways, is the missing piece of Cameron’s boxing jigsaw. Every fighter needs that special bond and that unwavering trust in their trainer. They need and crave that one-to-one attention. Cameron has that and a whole lot more. “I have a coach who is making me want to be a world champion again. I want to give it to Stephen just as much as I want it for myself.” Her period of drifting along somewhat is now over.

There were thoughts of retirement not so long ago. They were, in truth, born out of sheer frustration. You can only swim so much. Drowning in the politics of a sport that hasn’t always treated her well. But those tentative thoughts of walking away have now been replaced by thoughts of revenge and adding more world titles to an already incredibly impressive resume.

Cameron returns on Friday, July 11th, at Madison Square Garden on the undercard of her great rival, running it back with Amanda Serrano for a third time. It is the deepest and greatest all-female card that we have ever seen. Cameron defends her WBC interim world super-lightweight title against Jessica Camara. A supporting role this time, but Cameron hopes she will be the main act next time. The odds say that in some way, shape, or form, she will be.

If Taylor beats Serrano for a third time, Cameron says the WBC will insist that Taylor fights her next or vacate her belt. Taylor might have control over her future. She could even retire, but either way, Cameron should have a world title fight at 140 before the year is out. Cameron will hope the Jake Paul effect and his wealth can do enough to tempt Taylor back for a trilogy with a little more meaning. A Serrano victory might complicate things somewhat, but Cameron will still be in prime position regardless. “Now that I have signed with MVP, I think the big fights will now happen for me,” Cameron told me when the hook-up with Paul and MVP was formally announced.

It was a barren wilderness in 2024, but now everything is different for Cameron. Joining the MVP revolution has given her a plethora of potential options. Money talks. Fighters who might not have listened previously will now. Holly Holm, another member of the Jake Paul family, is a possible option for a future fight. As are the likes of Mikaela Mayer and Natasha Jonas. Cameron has expressed an interest in all three fights. They are now all more than realistic options.

At 34, Cameron could walk away from the sport right now with a resume that would stand the test of time. The Hall of Fame is surely in her future, but you get the impression Cameron is far from content. The hunger has returned. Finally, she is in the right place at the right time. You sense that hunger will now be satisfied.

“I feel the good times are about to happen again.” Chantelle Cameron