Chantelle Cameron is ready to take her “frustrations” out on Victoria Bustos in her world title defence on Saturday night in London.
The Briton, 31, has not boxed since October when she beat Mary McGee of the US to become the unified WBC, IBF and Ring magazine light-welterweight champion.
It was an assured performance that set up a potential undisputed fight with another American, WBA and WBO belt holder Kali Reis. But the Reis fight has since fallen through and Bustos was drafted in as a stopgap opponent for Cameron on the undercard of Joshua Buatsi’s domestic clash with Craig Richards at the O2 Arena this weekend.
“I just fell off the radar,” Cameron says.
“I had my fight in October, the momentum was there. Kali had her fight, people were excited for that fight and then the rug was pulled from underneath me and I disappeared.
“I tried so hard to keep positive and keep at it, but it was really hard. I had no idea what was happening and I was getting no answers.”
Cameron, who is undefeated in 15 fights, has harboured thoughts of walking away from boxing before in her career but has found new life under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom promotion.
Her hopes were sky high when she signed a tournament deal with Reis and the pair’s rivals McGee and Jessica Camara that would culminate in an undisputed fight. But with Reis unavailable to fight after her win over Camara, Cameron says she was left in no man’s land, having expected to fight her in early 2022.
“I’ve had a bit of a rough time,” she says.
Argentina’s Bustos, 33, has 22 wins and six losses on her record. She has fought in multiple world title fights, losing to the likes of Katie Taylor at lightweight and Cecilia Braekhus at welterweight.
Despite her pedigree, she is not the opponent Cameron wanted. Her focus remains on securing the undisputed championship but she admits she is unsure whether the fight with Reis will happen this year.
With Taylor and Amanda Serrano elevating women’s boxing to new heights and Claressa Shields v Savannah Marshall to come later this year, Cameron is desperate to get back on the women’s boxing wave.
“I would love to say, yes, the fight with Kali will happen, but the last few months I’ve had, I’m not even going to worry if it doesn’t happen,” the Northampton fighter says.
“I won’t put all my eggs into that basket because mentally it’s been too draining. If it happens, great but if it doesn’t, I won’t be shocked.”
As for Bustos, Cameron is eager to put the past six months behind her with a big performance.
“I don’t want to be wild but I’m definitely looking forward to fighting someone and putting a dent or two in her,” she adds.
