Chantelle Cameron revealed her attempts to make history this weekend by fighting three-minute rounds in her world light-welterweight title defence were rebuffed.
Sanctioning bodies have previously cited safety concerns with women’s championship bouts contested over a maximum of 10 two-minute rounds rather than the 12 threes their male counterparts take part in.
But Cameron insists she and her contemporaries should not be clamouring for a greater share of revenue if their fights are barely half as long, when they go the distance, and was ready to take the initiative.
The 31-year-old from Northampton wanted to put her WBC and IBF crowns on the line against Victoria Noelia Bustos over 10 three-minute rounds but her and trainer Jamie Moore were ultimately turned down.
“We can’t be saying we want equal pay if we’re only doing two-minute rounds,” Cameron told the PA news agency.
“Jamie Moore, for this fight, he actually wanted me to do three-minute rounds but he was told ‘no’.
“All I want to do is set my own bit of history. At the minute they said ‘no’ but hopefully I’d get that opportunity to be the first. Hopefully, it will happen because I’d love to do three-minute rounds.”
Cameron (15-0, 8KOs) wants to set herself apart after being one of the many engrossed by Katie Taylor’s recent win over Amanda Serrano in what was the first female fight to headline Madison Square Garden.
Billed as the biggest women’s fight in history, the bout matched the hype and left Cameron, who has been linked with a showdown against Taylor in the past and was beaten by her in the amateurs, in awe.
“What they did for women’s boxing was incredible because now it’s just going to go from strength to strength,” she said. “It was an incredible fight and hopefully now more opportunities like that will come for other women in the sport.
“They’re the sort of nights you dream of. Even watching it, I thought ‘God, will I ever have that opportunity? Will I ever be on one of those fight nights?’
“Everyone was talking about it, it was like a men’s fight. People were actually excited and it was a topic of conversation where it got a lot of interest. That was massive.”
Cameron unified the 140lbs division by outpointing Mary McGee last October and is seemingly on course for an undisputed fight against WBO and WBA champion Kali Reis, which could take place this summer.
The American is currently taking time out for personal health issues so, rather than stand idle, Cameron is facing Bustos, an Argentinian fighter who is a former world champion at lightweight.
Bustos’ only defeats in the last five years have come against undisputed lightweight champion Taylor and the welterweight equivalent Cecilia Braekhus, so Cameron knows she is in for a test at London’s O2 Arena.
“I’ve been so frustrated through not fighting,” she added. “Obviously it’s a risk that I’m taking, the fact that I am fighting a good former champion and a good opponent.
“But what’s the point in waiting around? It could be the end of the year, it could be next year (before fighting Reis).
“If I didn’t take that risk, I’d still have my belts and I would get the undisputed fight but I won’t be active. But I want to be in the ring fighting. For me it was a no-brainer.”
