Katie Taylor could be headed for another trilogy.
The WBC has now formally ordered the Irishwoman to defend her undisputed super lightweight crown against Britain’s Chantelle Cameron.
Taylor, Uncrowned’s pound-for-pound No. 1 boxer, and Cameron, Uncrowned’s No. 5, split back-to-back fights in 2023. Cameron retained her undisputed 140-pound championship with an upset over Taylor in May, while a terrific performance from Taylor saw her avenge her only career loss in November.
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Taylor (25-1, 6 KOs) is coming off a pair of wins over Amanda Serrano. The future Hall of Famer went 3-0 in her trilogy with Puerto Rico’s Serrano and scored the only convincing win in the series in July in New York. Cameron (21-1, 8 KOs), now signed with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, fought on the prelims and retained her WBC interim belt with a wide decision over Jessica Camara.
There is uncertainty about whether the bout will materialize. Not only is Taylor not expected to return to the ring in 2025, but she may not fight again at all. Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, who has promoted Taylor for her whole career, believes that a special night at Croke Park could be the only thing that brings Taylor back.
Katie Taylor has been ordered to defend her WBC undisputed super lightweight crown in a bout that might not materialize. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
(Stephen McCarthy via Getty Images)
Last week, Uncrowned broke the news that Joshua Buatsi had left Ben Shalom’s BOXXER to join Frank Warren’s Queensberry. Now, his Queensberry debut is set.
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The top light heavyweight contender will face fellow Brit Zach Parker in the headliner of a DAZN telecast from the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England, on Nov. 2, Queensberry confirmed on Friday.
Buatsi (19-1, 13 KOs) was dethroned of his WBO interim title by Callum Smith in a Fight of the Year contender on February’s Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol rematch undercard. Prior to that, the Brit had built up a strong résumé domestically, with wins over Willy Hutchinson, Craig Richards and Dan Azeez.
Parker (26-1, 18 KOs) has won four fights in a row since an injury cut short his WBO interim super middleweight title bout with John Ryder in November 2022.
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In the card’s co-feature, Mancunian light heavyweights Brad Rea (21-1, 10 KOs) and Lyndon Arthur (24-3, 16 KOs) collide for Rea’s European crown. Rea defeated Shakan Pitters to claim European honors in June, while Arthur hasn’t fought since a split-decision loss to Anthony Yarde in their April trilogy bout on the Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn undercard.
Rounding out the light heavyweight triple-header, Ukraine’s Daniel Lapin (12-0, 4 KOs) will return to the ring against Britain’s Troy Jones (12-1, 6 KOs). Lapin successfully defended his WBO International and WBA Continental titles against Lewis Edmondson on the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois undercard at Wembley Stadium in July. Jones lost his unbeaten record to Ezra Taylor in May.
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