Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HOME AN D AWAY
Irish hero Taylor loses unbeaten pro record and quest for more belts as Cameron gets decision on chastening night
KATIE Taylor’s dream homecoming ended in heartbreak at the 3 Arena in Dublin last night.
Taylor, 36, finally got the opportunity to box on home soil as a pro some seven years after leaving the amateur ranks behind in the wake of her Rio Olympics heartbreak.
She had been unstoppable since then, winning 22 bouts and becoming the undisputed lightweight world champion.
But that run ended last night and Taylor admitted it was bitterly disappointing.
“It’s not how I wanted the homecoming to go,” said Taylor. “I expected everything that came my way, it was a gruelling 10 rounds.
“Every single round was close. What can you do? This is boxing.
“I guess I just came up short tonight. I look forward to the next time we face eachother.”
Plans to come home to fight at Croke Park late last year didn’t work out due to disagreements over costs and, when her rematch with Amanda Serrano was postponed due to the Puerto Rico fighter withdrawing through injury, Taylor agreed to take on Cameron instead.
It was a brave decision as it meant that the Bray sensation had to move up to super lightweight to fight the Englishwoman who was also unbeaten – 17-0 – going into the bout.
But it was a risk that didn’t work out for Taylor and her army of fans who packed out the docklands venue as deafening noise gave way to shocked near silence as the impressive Cameron earned an unanimous victory.
Tellingly, there was no real outcry from the partisan crowd and that told the story as her 31-year-old rival’s committed display won over two judges, who scored it 96-94 in Cameron’s favour, with the other calling it a draw.
Taylor’s face crumpled in disappointment as the result was confirmed, though she quickly recovered to thank her fans for their support.
The one bit of good news for the home favourite was that her world titles were not up for grabs and so she held onto her belts.
Taylor has a rematch with Cameron in her contract, and there will be massive interest in seeing the two rivals get back in the ring for another showdown.
Ireland’s ring queen weighed in at her heaviest ever – 139.7 lbs – at the Mansion House on Friday, and that was on a par with her opponent.
That reduced the power differential between the two, and while it made Cameron the heaviest rival she has ever faced, it was also the heaviest that Taylor has been going into a fight.
And, watched from ringside by her childhood hero Deirdre Gogarty, Taylor drank in the atmosphere as she emerged for her ring walk and looked ultra-confident as she took in the lacked arena.
But she knew she was in a fight straight away as Cameron came forward in the first round, making good use of her left jab with Taylor only finding a sporadic response.
It wasn’t until halfway through the second round that she really got going, a powerful left hand shot to Cameron’s face settling her down and she took the round.
The Northampton woman exploded out of the blocks in round four but Taylor responded with some trademark combinations, including one towards the end of the round that drew a smile from her opponent.
Cameron’s game plan was to unleash a big right uppercut and while
Taylor managed to dodge most of those bombs, her opponent was pinning her down on the ropes and confirming she had the edge over the first five rounds.
Taylor stood her ground more in the dramatic sixth as the pair traded shots in thrilling fashion and a better seventh round put Taylor back on the front foot.
Her coach, Ross Enamait, was much happier as Taylor returned to her corner after landing some telling blows before round nine l, a thrill a second affair that saw Taylor on top before Cameron launched herself onto the attack.
Taylor needed a massive round to finish and, roared on by the rapt crowd, she threw everything into it – as did Cameron, who felt afterwards she had done enough, and she was right.