by It was on a small patch of grass on the Standens Barn estate in Northampton that Chantelle Cameron discovered her superpower.
“When I was younger I never felt any pain … I don’t really feel pain, which is a bit strange, and I always loved to fight,” says the world’s best pound-for-pound female boxer, while wearing it. back to a formative scene that could contrast more sharply with beating Katie Taylor in front of 10,000 fans in Dublin.
“I came from a council estate where we had nothing – not even a playground,” recalls Cameron. “He was just hanging out on the streets. We had a bit of grass and played our own little games.
“I used to play with Barbies and make little Polly Pockets but I would get bored and start fighting with all the boys. I used to make the boys cry. Their mothers used to come to my house and they would talk to my mom. He always used to start.”
Cameron duly joined the local kickboxing club at the age of 10 and, once again, found her passion for fighting in the company of the boys.
“There’s this thrill and excitement,” she says. “I didn’t mind hitting back either. I was able to take a shot, even getting kicked in my head, or a knee in my head, I just took it in my stride. The categories of the competition would be mixed. I would spar with the boys and never get hurt. I would go to school and go to the kickboxing gym for three hours every night.”
When did she realize she was good? “When I was winning competitions,” says Cameron, laughing as she remembers an event where she was surrounded not only by the winners’ trophy but by the boys she beat. “That probably wasn’t one of the pictures they were in [the boys] he went to show everyone at school. Mom and Dad didn’t like me doing it at first, but they saw that I was winning medals and staying out of trouble. It kept me in check.”
And, as well as not feeling pain, how did it feel to be punished? “You’re there to hurt someone,” she says matter-of-factly. “That doesn’t mean I want to go around hurting everyone and causing damage. A fight is a fight. They want to hurt me, so I’d rather hurt them than they hurt me.”
Cameron became the National Amateur Boxing Association champion in 2010 and was told she would have to focus on boxing to have a chance of being selected for the Olympics and other international competitions.
She was better with her fists than her legs anyway and her one boxing journey will reach another peak this weekend when she faces Taylor again at the 3Arena in Dublin for the undisputed world lightweight title.
Cameron remains unbeaten professionally while Taylor, an Olympic gold medalist and two-weight world champion, will be looking to avenge the only defeat she suffered when a gate was broken in May.
It’s an interesting prospect that serves as a timely reminder to the men that there is still nothing more attractive in boxing than a true matchup of the best against the best.
Cameron describes the atmosphere in the first fight as “quite breathtaking” but it’s also easy to feel frustrated that even as the winner she has to travel to Ireland again for the rematch. She would eventually love the chance to fight on a similar stage in Northampton, perhaps at Franklin’s Gardens, home of the Northampton Saints rugby team.
‘I’ve done it the hard way and I’m very proud of that’
“I fought in halls, leisure centres, function rooms, stadiums,” she says. “I started small and I’ve gone big. I have done it the hard way and I am very proud of that. Nothing was given to me and I won’t change it. If things are handed to you, especially in boxing, you become complacent. You get a little unpleasant … and you become entitled. I have overcome obstacles and obstacles. I’m on top of the world and I have to keep it that way.”
At 32, Cameron hopes she will be “one of the best to ever do this”, but she is also keenly aware of a potential wider legacy. There is debate over whether women’s championship rounds should follow the men’s format of 12 three-minute rounds or stay at 10 two-minute rounds.
“I would love to push myself to do what the men are doing,” she says. “There are a lot more punches thrown in two-minute rounds – it’s busier – but three-minute rounds you can’t argue with the pay. Women must be paid the same as men because we are doing the same thing. It also makes it more exciting because there would be more stops.
“Three-minute rounds … you’re going to break your opponent, you’re going to get to them, and I think it’s going to be easier for judges to score. Three-minute rounds would suit my style better.”
‘I let my fists do the talking’
As well as that obvious boxing heritage, Cameron also hopes that the way she conducts herself outside the ring can be used as an example. The lack of disparaging or offensive comments towards Taylor certainly feels like a refreshing throwback to more honorable times.
“When I retire, I want people to talk about my fights and inspire the next generation to be a good fighter, but also to think that you don’t have to sell yourself in certain ways, like talking trash. You don’t see me online bad mouthing other fighters, being mean and bitter.
“People like you too. They see the real you and don’t think, ‘What an——-‘. You can be yourself. I can’t box with people’s approval. I do it because I enjoy it and let my fists do the talking.
“There is no adversity [with Taylor]. I respect her. She is a great role model but, at the end of the day, I beat her and I have to beat her again. It’s a selfish sport.”
Also, as Cameron looks back on growing up on the Northampton estate, there’s a message for any other aspiring young women out there.
“If you have a dream, you have to persevere because it won’t be easy,” she says. “But don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. Don’t give up. You just have to remember what you set out to do, and keep going because one day you will achieve it.”
