Katie Taylor suffers first defeat as Chantelle Cameron defends titles

Chantelle Cameron withstood the immense pressure bearing down on her, and the formidable challenge of Katie Taylor and her fevered supporters, to retain her undisputed world super-lightweight titles on a majority decision late on Saturday night in a fraught atmosphere in Dublin. Her narrow victory on points over the valiant Taylor secured Cameron the sweetest win of her career by scores of 96-94 twice, with the third official unable to separate them as he scored it a 95-95 draw.

It was the first time that Taylor had fought in her home country and, even with 10,000 people roaring her on, she could not quite contain the power and aggression of Cameron. It was still a magnificent contest which left the capacity crowd stunned and silent. They roused themselves to boo Cameron at the end – which was grossly unfair as both women had shown immense courage and skill.

Unlike the usual fight promotion, the 3Arena was crammed and jumping two hours before the main event as the capacity crowd celebrated the return of big-time boxing to Ireland for the first time since early 2016. It was very different in Taylor’s hushed dressing room. While having her hands wrapped before she made her ring walk, she looked serene. Taylor wore a grey T-shirt which promised that “It is God who arms me with strength.”

Even though Cameron was the defending champion, the near deification of Taylor in Ireland meant that the 32-year-old woman from Northampton walked first to the ring to a cacophony of boos. Taylor savoured and soaked up her own euphoric and moving reception. She was home at last. Her face was shining, with sweat and a kind of rapture, as she looked around the arena. Cameron prowled in her corner, swinging her arms and shadow boxing in an