Former undisputed super-lightweight champion Chantelle Cameron has not only chosen a new promoter in Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, but she has recruited a new training team too.
Cameron is now working with Stephen “Swifty” Smith in Liverpool.
Aged 39, “Swifty”, the older brother of Callum and Liam Smith, was a pro boxer between 2008-2019, where he became a British and Commonwealth champion and also challenged for world titles twice.
Chantelle left trainer Jamie Moore and Matchroom Boxing in favour of Grant Smith in Sheffield when she signed with Frank Warren.
“I am absolutely loving it!” She exclaimed during an interview with Fight Post about her new working relationship with “Swifty” Smith. “I am not just saying this, but it’s the best decision I have made.
“Grant [Smith] is a great trainer and a great guy, but something was just missing. When I was with Jamie and Nigel, I had that great bond with them. We had a laugh, and I saw them as friends as well. They have been there for me through the highs and the lows. I have been messaging Stephen for a while. He is such a nice guy. All the brothers are such good boxers. I kind of get four for the price of one.
“Stephen is such a great coach. He is learning me loads. He is giving me a lot of time, and I have never really had that before. You can tell Stephen is just as hungry as I am; it has given me that hunger back as well.
“Like I said, last year wasn’t the year that I wanted. I was boxing, but I didn’t have that hunger. I just couldn’t get up for those fights. But now 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.”
Cameron’s next fight will be announced imminently and she couldn’t be any more excited about it, having not fought at all this year, “It’s a fight I can get my teeth stuck into. No disrespect to my opponents from last year, but I just couldn’t get up for them.”
Cameron defeated Elhem Mekhaled and Patricia Berghult, both on points over 10-rounds in July and November, respectively. She has since been out the ring for almost seven months since, however.
She went on to explain why she has moved promotions once more, “Last year, Queensberry and Frank Warren were absolutely fantastic, but the big fights just weren’t there.
“But signing with MVP is a massive game-changer.”
MVP have recently signed a host of female boxing stars, including Alycia Baumgardner, Savannah Marshall, Holly Holm and Dina Thorslund.
“Their signings are incredible, and they have really invested in women’s boxing,” Northampton’s Cameron enthused. “They are going worldwide, and it’s really positive for women’s boxing. It has taken a massive dip, but hopefully, it’s now on the rise again.”
The move to MVP was quite surprising considering Cameron still had one more fight remaining on her Queensberry contract.
“It was actually Queensberry that set the deal up,” Cameron revealed. “That’s what I mean, I have nothing but good things to say about Queensberry. They supported me through my comeback, and they tried to get me the third fight with Katie or another world title shot.
“But it’s boxing. It just didn’t happen. It basically came about when my manager and Queensberry were discussing that this was a better option for me, and then we started talking to MVP.
Frustrated and feeling left out in the wilderness, Cameron even toyed with the idea of retiring, but she now has a new lease of life under a different promoter and trainer, “Luckily, now that I have signed with MVP, I think the big fights will now happen for me.”
However, she has dismissed any idea of the trilogy with Katie Taylor being completed, “Katie and I were in talks, I accepted all my terms, and then Katie wanted to fight her mandatory first. So that alone shows that she didn’t want to fight me. I dropped my price, and I accepted everything.
“I think Katie knows deep down that I will beat her again.”
Cameron also considered moving up to 147lbs in search for her next world title shot, but now intends to stay in her natural weight division to reclaim what was lost two years ago in the Taylor rematch with Taylor.
“I am mandatory for the WBC super-lightweight title,” Cameron disclosed. “I have been told that after this fight, I will be fighting for the belt. I have waited too long to get my shot at that. I spent all last year trying to get in that position. So I would be crazy to walk away from it now. But after I win that world title, I will be moving up to welterweight.”
She concluded with a glimpse into her future fight plans further down the road, “I do want to be undisputed again before I retire, so I can walk away at the top. Getting my belts back at super-lightweight is very personal to me. But also, I want to go for the big names, someone like Mikaela Mayer or Natasha Jonas. I just want the big fights and to share the ring with the big names.”
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