Chantelle Cameron underlined her place among the greats of women's boxing on Saturday by defeating Mikaela Mayer to become the unified super-welterweight world champion.
The British fighter secured a unanimous decision victory in the main event of the MVPW-06 card in Birmingham, claiming the WBA, WBC and WBO belts.
What had been widely billed as a contender for fight of the year delivered on its promise. The two pound-for-pound superstars fought at a frenetic and unrelenting pace throughout a bruising contest.
Unanimous decision
Cameron ultimately emerged victorious in a closely contested bout. The three ringside judges scored the thriller 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94 in her favour.
The victory adds further gloss to a stellar professional resume for the Northampton boxer. Cameron already holds the significant distinction of being the only woman to have defeated the Irish great Katie Taylor in her professional career.
Taylor is widely considered one of the best female fighters in boxing history, making Cameron's previous victory over the two-weight undisputed champion a landmark achievement.
Unified champion
The super-welterweight division, also known as junior middleweight, requires fighters to weigh in at no more than 154 pounds. By claiming three of the four major recognised world titles in the weight class, Cameron has firmly cemented her position at the pinnacle of the sport.
The WBA, WBC and WBO are three of the four major sanctioning bodies in professional boxing, alongside the International Boxing Federation. Holding three of these belts simultaneously elevates Cameron to unified champion status.
Mayer also brought an impressive pedigree to the ring. The American is a former unified super-featherweight world champion and represented the United States at the Olympics, which contributed to the immense anticipation surrounding the matchup.
Despite Mayer's efforts in Birmingham, Cameron proved too strong over the distance, taking the win and the titles in an epic encounter.
