Chantelle Cameron Eyes Claressa Shields Showdown After Title Win

Chantelle Cameron barely had time to let the new belts settle on her shoulders before setting her sights on the biggest name in women’s boxing.

Fresh from a gripping points win over Mikaela Mayer in Birmingham, the newly crowned WBA, WBC and WBO super-welterweight world champion has revealed that talks to face Claressa Shields are not just tentative feelers. They are advanced. And they are moving fast.

Cameron’s statement win – and what comes next

At MPW-06 on Saturday night, Cameron edged Mayer in a high-class, high-tempo contest that showcased both her grit and her ring IQ. The scorecards – 97-93, 97-93, 96-94 – told the story of a tight, punishing fight in which Cameron found enough quality in the key moments to separate herself.

The victory adds another layer to a résumé that already includes the distinction no one else can claim: she is the only woman to have beaten Katie Taylor in the Irish icon’s professional career.

That alone would secure Cameron a permanent place in the modern history of the sport. She wants more.

With three belts at 154lbs now strapped around her waist, Cameron is targeting the self-proclaimed “GWOAT”, Claressa Shields, a fighter who has dominated from light-middleweight up to middleweight and beyond, and currently holds the WBC and WBA middleweight titles with a perfect 19-0 record.

“I fancy Clarissa Shields,” Cameron told Sky Sports, laying out her ambition with no hint of caution. “I think I really do want to dare to be great and Clarissa Shields, she’s the GWOAT, she’s number one and that’s going to be a fight that will just be unbelievable.

“The teams are actually in talks for that now so there is actually movement on that fight and for me that makes me giddy because I think that really is me challenging the very, very best and what an opportunity if this fight comes off.

“They are very advanced; it is moving pretty quick is what my managers told me, and it is a very high possibility the fight will happen.”

Many expected the natural next step to be a rematch with Mayer after such a close and absorbing encounter. Instead, Cameron is pushing straight for the summit. No tune-up. No detour. Just a collision course with the most decorated active fighter in the women’s game.

Shields’ options: Cameron or Price?

Cameron is not the only name in the Claressa Shields sweepstake.

When Shields stopped Kaye Scott in the sixth round in August to reclaim her middleweight belts, she made it clear that her preferred next opponent was Olympic champion Lauren Price, targeting a date between December and January.

Price embraced the idea. A showdown between the American superstar and the fast-rising Welsh technician would carry serious intrigue, stylistically and commercially.

Shields’ promoter, Dmitriy Salita, has made no secret of where he believes that kind of fight should land.

“Claressa came down to middleweight to make the biggest fights possible,” Salita told Sky Sports. “We want to make this a mega-event, and I believe that fight belongs in the United States.

“That being said, we love the UK, and another fight there is certainly not out of the question. It’s an incredible time for women’s boxing.”

That is the backdrop against which Cameron’s camp is now working. On one side, a potential US mega-event with Price. On the other, a three-belt champion in Cameron, riding the momentum of a major win and openly chasing greatness.

The middleweight queen has options everywhere she looks. The question now is simple: which challenge will tempt the self-styled GWOAT first?