On May 20, 2023, fans from around Ireland piled into 3Arena in Dublin as Katie Taylor fought for the first time in her home country. Unfortunately, the night didn’t go as planned. First, Irish lightweight prospect Gary Cully lost his first pro bout in dramatic fashion as José Félix Jr. stopped him in the third round. Not long thereafter, Chantelle Cameron handed Taylor the first loss of her pro career as she defended her super lightweight belts. As Cameron became the first woman to dethrone the boxing icon, fans and fighters from around the globe shared their thoughts.
“Congrats Cameron,” undisputed super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner tweeted.
“Great fight! [I definitely] wanted to see more bombs and true game planning from both corners but nonetheless, it was great! I have Cameron slighting it, but Taylor landed the sharper punches,” former welterweight champion and The Porter Way Host Shawn Porter wrote.
“Congratulations to [Chantelle Cameron] on a great win. Hats off to [Katie Taylor] for going up to a weight class [and fighting] the champion. It’s not that easy going up in weight, but that’s what you do when you believe in yourself,” undisputed featherweight champion Amanda Serrano added.
While many felt that Cameron won, one top boxer scored the fight in favor of the super lightweight title challenger, Katie Taylor.
“Katie won this fight to me! If y’all want to say a split or majority for Katie! But let’s see! Cameron did good but didn’t dethrone the champ,” Shields tweeted.
Fans may have the opportunity to see a rematch in the future. After the fight, Chantelle Cameron said that she’d be interested in moving down to lightweight to fight Katie Taylor for her undisputed lightweight championship.