26 November 2023 , 07:36
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Katie Taylor issued a defiant message to her doubters after a sensational rematch victory over Chantelle Cameron.
Irish great Taylor suffered the first defeat of her professional career back in May and Cameron was expected to get the better of her once again at the 3Arena.
But it was a different fight this time around with both boxers trading blows throughout a gruelling 10-round contest that was scored 95-95, 98-92 and 96-94 by the judges.
Early success for Taylor proved crucial and a cut on Cameron’s left head from a clash of heads in round three contributed to a bruising encounter that went the way of the challenger.
Taylor now now holds the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO light-welterweight belts to firmly silence any talk of retirement. “Two-weight world champion? That sounds very nice," she said.
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“That was the longest six months of my life waiting for this rematch. All I was ever thinking about was the rematch. I am so glad I got to do it with my home crowd and this is my real homecoming tonight.
“Whoever wrote me off obviously don’t know me very well. Don’t ever doubt me.” Taylor was in uncharted territory for this bout give she was an outsider with the bookmakers and first to make her walk to the ring.
There was no lengthy ring walk like for the Irish boxers’ homecoming in May, but the sold-out arena was left stunned when the 37-year-old dropped to the canvas in round one. It was deemed a slip by referee Roberto Ramirez despite Cameron appearing to catch Taylor with a left jab.
Taylor had made a slow start in their last meeting, but responded brilliantly in round two with a slick combination raising the decibel levels again.
Katie Taylor punches Chantelle Cameron who suffered a heavy cut during the fight (Getty)The Olympic champion produced another strong round immediately after and, significantly, a clash of heads between the fighters opened up a cut on Cameron’s left forehead.
Veteran Taylor could scent blood now and landed more punches in round four to inflict further punishment on her opponent’s open wound, which had to be checked by the doctor.
Cameron’s corner were working frantically between rounds on her cut but Taylor continued to gain success as the 10-round bout entered its second half.
The contest had turned extremely physical, with holding and shoulder barges regularly coupled with quality shots from each fighter as Cameron tried to turn the screw in round eight with a superb uppercut.
Taylor’s home crowd chanted her name at the start of the ninth round as fatigue looked to set in for the Irish boxer in her 24th professional contest.
Both traded off in the centre of the ring during an exhilarating final round before a thundering noise greeted the last bell.
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All attention turned to the judges, with the roof taken off the building when Taylor was declared the winner by majority decision to win the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF light-welterweight titles.
It raises the possibility of a third fight with Cameron, which appears the plan for Taylor. “Let’s get the trilogy at Croke Park,” Taylor roared to deafening noise after one of the best nights of her stellar career.