“The moment it doesn’t hurt it’s time to hang up the gloves.”
Katie Taylor lost her homecoming fight to Chantelle Cameron last weekend, but what she told Eddie Hearn afterwards gives us an indication of what will happen next.
Cameron was the better fighter on the night, with the better game plan. It looked as though Taylor anticipated that her younger opponent would be strong in the later rounds, so conserved some of her energy for the latter stages.
This however meant that the Irish woman was always chasing the fight, and couldn’t make up the ground by the time those final rounds came.
The English native held centre of the ring, cut off any space for Taylor to move into, and worked the body relentlessly, hitting the cleaner shots between the two fighters.
Already there has been talk of a rematch, and what Taylor told her promotor, Hearn, after the bout, all but confirms that the fight will happen again.
“She was devastated,” Hearn told The MMA Hour.
“When I saw her in the lift I went in the lift with her and walked with her to the car. She was gobsmacked. It was quite a trippy experience seeing her lose.
“When they announced Chantelle Cameron everyone was like “Oh my god, Katie Taylor has lost”.
“She was quite shocked with it. I asked her how she was feeling and I said ‘Listen, now is the most exciting chapter of your career’ and she said ‘it doesn’t feel like it, it feels like a bad dream’.
“I said ‘does it hurt?’ and she said ‘so bad’ and I said ‘Great, that’s all we need to know because the moment it doesn’t hurt it’s time to hang up the gloves’.”
The rematch will undoubtedly be on Cameron’s terms, but that doesn’t mean that its not be in Ireland again. Ultimately they will go with the venue that brings the most money and capacity.
The Aviva Stadium has been tipped to host the event, but for now, Taylor will be licking her wounds, and eyeing up that rematch.
Related links:
- Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron recapture the magic of boxing
- Chantelle Cameron rocks 3Arena as she narrowly defeats Katie Taylor
- Conor McGregor has a message for Katie Taylor after heartbreaking defeat
