RARING TO GO
Ian Probert visits Chantelle Cameron as she prepares, under the supervision of the Mcguigans, to make her professional debut
WANDSWORTH. The ring is almost too pristine – it smells curiously like the interior of a new car. At one corner is the past: Barry Mcguigan, bouncing excitedly on his toes, twisting his shoulders, releasing the jabs and hooks that once illuminated an era. At the other is the present: his son Shane: fixed in concentration, serious beyond his years. At the centre might just be the future: she may not carry the family name but Chantelle Cameron could easily be a member of this esteemed Irish boxing dynasty.
This becomes increasingly evident when 26-year-old Chantelle begins to shuffle forward and aim punches at the man who will be her opponent for the next 20 minutes or so. Matthew Chanda is certainly no mug: in his last fight he lost a split-decision for the Commonwealth bantamweight title – his only defeat – and he’s not here to make up the numbers. As sparring sessions go this one is a real humdinger. Beneath the obligatory head guards it’s soon difficult to pinpoint exactly who is the pro and who is the amateur; just as it is to evaluate who is the man and who is the woman.
While Mcguigan Snr projects his frenetic advice from the sidelines and Mcguigan Jnr maintains a studious silence it becomes easy to understand why Chantelle has been so readily welcomed into the family business. As the first female boxer that Cyclone Promotions has signed there are obvious similarities between the elder Mcguigan and his protégé. The upper body movement and the crushing momentum recall the erstwhile “Clones Cyclone” at his relentless best. But it is the sheer variety of punches that most impresses.
“She’s the real Mccoy,” Barry Mcguigan breathlessly tells Boxing News later. “She can really punch. She enjoys dishing it out. The public are going to love her!”
Chantelle is from Northampton. In her civvies she’s understated – the last person you would expect to be a boxer. She’s only been in London for six weeks and it kind of shows. She talks a lot about shopping. About Covent Garden. About Nando’s. Every now and again she will blush and look away.
Fuelled by an obsession with Mike Tyson, Chantelle began fighting while at school. “Every day I’d go home and watch Tyson videos,’ she remembers. “Then I’d go to the gym and try and re-enact the way he fought in sparring: the bobbing and weaving. And I’d try to bomb everyone out.”
This early role model provided the basis for a formidable amateur career: world titles in kickboxing and Thai boxing. Moreover, a quick Youtube search brings up plenty of evidence of the crowd-pleasing punching power that earned her 85 wins in 100 fights as an amateur boxer. Not a surprise then, that there was no shortage of offers for Chantelle to turn pro.
“I had a couple of people talk to me but it didn’t feel right,” she says. “I just didn’t like the vibe. But as soon as I met Barry and shook his hand I was praying he was going to sign me. If I didn’t get signed by the Mcguigans I probably
‘SHE CAN REALLY PUNCH. SHE ENJOYS DISHING IT OUT’
wouldn’t have turned pro.”
Chantelle makes her paid debut in Cardiff on May 26 against Karina
Kopinska. The experienced Polish fighter was also the first opponent for
Katie Taylor last year and managed to last three rounds. Comparisons are inevitable but Cameron cannot wait to put into practice the new skills that have been honed by watching and listening to the Mcguigan clan.
“As a fighter Barry was unbelievable. A legend,” she says. “He had you on the edge of your seat. As soon as he saw an opening he would get you out of there. I want to box like that.”
Chantelle is also anxious to put to bed her biggest disappointment. A year ago she missed out on a place in Rio after losing a split decision eliminator to Finland’s Mira Potkonen.
“I took it really badly,” she recalls. “I thought I’d let my family down. I was absolutely destroyed and didn’t think I’d ever box again. This makes me an underdog. The Olympics was all about my family. If I could have won a gold I could have got my mum a nice house. But I didn’t.”
As we talk we watch a video of Thomas Hearns’ victory over Roberto Duran way back in 1984. It’s the first time she’s seen the fight and I can’t help laughing when her mouth droops open in shock when Hearns lands the knockout blow. And then Chantelle smiles. “I put a lot of pressure on myself in the amateurs,” she announces. “But turning pro is all about me. This time I’m going to have fun.”
‘I’D GO TO THE GYM AND TRY AND RE-ENACT THE WAY TYSON FOUGHT’