Mikaela Mayer vs. Chantelle Cameron: Fight of the Year?

Mikaela Mayer vs. Chantelle Cameron: Fight of the Year?

Fights like this don’t come along very often. It’s not just that two genuine pound-for-pound fighters are fighting each other this weekend in Birmingham. That, in this modern era of avoidance, should be celebrated. But it’s the fact that they are fighting at the peak of their powers that adds even more credence to a fight that is without much doubt the most important fight to be made in women’s boxing this year.

This isn’t two faded fighters looking for one last payday on the way out of the door. One last dance. One last appearance under the bright lights. It’s a fight about legacy. A super-welterweight unification showdown with three world titles on the line.

Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron will do battle for the WBC, WBA, and WBO 154-pound baubles. Mayer is promising a fight-of-the-year contender. Cameron didn’t dispute that point. In truth, nobody did. How could they? It almost certainly will be exactly that.

Mayer has treated us to modern-day classics with the likes of Maïva Hamadouche, Natasha Jonas, and those two fights with Sandy Ryan. Cameron is no stranger to those kinds of fights either. Two relentless battles with Katie Taylor that will live long in the memory.

It’s extremely difficult to see any other outcome than Mayer and Cameron delivering another brutal offering. Whoever wins, victory is likely to come at a price. The kind of fight where every success will be hard-earned and repaid in kind.

It is a fight that deserves the full glare of the boxing media landscape. But a certain British heavyweight fighting on the same night in London will almost certainly grab the headlines if he is crowned the new heavyweight champion of the world. But that shouldn’t diminish the importance of what Mayer and Cameron will undoubtedly serve up on Saturday night. The better fight will almost certainly be in Birmingham.

Mayer feels she is unbeatable and is already looking ahead to possible fights with Claressa Shields and Lauren Price. Cameron is also brimming with confidence. Starved of the big nights and the headline status since that painful rematch with Katie Taylor in 2023, Cameron looks in the same mood that she was when she ruined the initial Taylor homecoming. A famous victory that never got the attention or the credit it deserved.

Most Valuable Promotions deserve credit for nights like this. Other than the likes of Claressa Shields, Lauren Price, and Gabriela Fundora, most of the elite female talent are now on the MVP roster. They are now fighting each other. With more to come. Ellie Scotney is stepping up to featherweight to challenge Tiara Brown, and Alycia Baumgardner is finally having a fight of real jeopardy against the dangerous Elif Nur Turhan when she steps up to lightweight. Both fights are on the same November card. After a period of stagnation not so long ago, MVP have revitalised the female side of the sport. Has Jake Paul saved women’s boxing? He just might have.

Saturday night will be another celebration for women’s boxing. Caroline Dubois and Terri Harper will form part of the undercard. Last time they fought each other. Now they are on separate paths. Dubois wants undisputed next year. Harper is chasing a world title in a fourth weight division. A nice little starter before the main course at the top of the card.

Mayer and Cameron won’t disappoint anyone, however it plays out. It could be close. It could be controversial. One fighter might win a lot easier than many expect. Either way, it will be exceptionally good. Even the heavyweights doing their thing 100 or so miles away will do well to match what Mayer and Cameron give us. The truth is, they won’t.