Cameron changes her mind on three-minute rounds for women
Chantelle Cameron has changed her mind on three-minute rounds in women’s boxing.
The 35-year-old former undisputed junior welterweight champion will meet Mikaela Mayer in a junior middleweight title unification fight Saturday night in Birmingham, England. Their fight is scheduled for 10 two-minute rounds.
Cameron won her WBO title, which will be on the line when she fights for Mayer’s WBA and WBC belts, when she easily outpointed Michaela Kotaskova in her first fight consisting of three-minute rounds.
Like many others, Cameron (22-1, 8 KOs) thought that extending women’s boxing rounds by a minute would increase the number of stoppages and therefore drive interest in the sport for those with a thirst for knockouts.
But after dominating Kotaskova throughout the clash, which she won via cards of 99-91 twice and a 100-90, Cameron is now not so sure.
“I’ve changed my mind about the three-minute rounds and getting stoppages,” Cameron told The Ring. “It’s not as easy as that. I think if you’re going to get a stoppage, you’ll get a stoppage in two. If you're not going to, that won't change with an extra minute.”
Amanda Serrano, a seven-division champion, has been one of the staunchest advocates of three-minute rounds in women’s boxing. But even the 37-year-old icon, one of women’s boxing’s biggest punchers, could not find an early finish against Danila Ramos in their historic fight in October 2023, the first women's bout over 12 threes.
Instead, she won via shutout on all three cards.
“I thought the extra minute would [help me] get a stoppage,” Cameron said, “but my last opponent was going nowhere and I was thinking, ‘You must be kidding me. I’ve done three-minute rounds to try and get rid of you, but you’re going nowhere.’ It’s just tough and I just think these women are tough. Amanda’s fight proved that, too.”
Cameron also explained how she and trainer Jamie Moore shifted the emphasis of preparation to account for the extra minute.
“We called it the wave,” Cameron recalled. “And the wave goes up and goes down. My whole camp was going through the waves, up then down. That’s where I had to learn how to navigate a lot better because my style is come forward and throw loads of punches, but obviously with an extra minute, you’re not going to do that. I genuinely find that very easy for two minutes, but over 10 threes I was very careful because I thought, ‘This is an extra minute every round, let’s not get carried away.’
“So, the fight was a massive learning experience for me. Over two minutes, it’s just, ‘Bam,’ and I don’t really take a step back. But with threes I was taking steps back just to catch my breath. I’ve never gassed out over 10 twos, but there were a couple of times in my last fight when I was thinking, ‘Don’t blow a gasket here, don’t overdo it.’ ”
She will be back to her usual style against Mayer (22-2, 5 KOs) in a main event Sky Sports and ESPN+ will televise and stream from bp pulse LIVE in the UK and United States, respectively.
Cameron believes Mayer’s position as one of women’s boxing’s biggest names has pushed her to new heights in training.
Las Vegas’ Mayer, a three-division champion, is ranked No. 3 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, behind only Katie Taylor and Claressa Shields. Cameron is ranked No. 5.
“I've been waiting for a name like Mayer for a long time, since my Katie Taylor fights,” Cameron said. “I’ve needed a name like Mayer and I’ve been patiently waiting, but this is what gives me that buzz. And this is what brings the best out of me as well, because I need these kind of names to get me properly fired up, so I leave nothing unturned in training. I think that’s why it’s going to be one of my best performances and that’s what having that underdog mentality feels like – I just love proving people wrong.”
