Chantelle Cameron unanimously outpointed Mikaela Mayer in a gruelling fight to unify two versions of the world junior middleweight title on Saturday.
Cameron (23-1, 8 KOs) edged an intense, close encounter between two of the world's best women's pound-for-pound fighters to earn scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94 at the bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England.
For Cameron, it was her best career win other than her 2023 points triumph over Katie Taylor. But for American Mayer (22-3, 5 KOs), this was a third agonising defeat on English soil after also losing on points vs. Alycia Baumgardner (2022) and Natasha Jonas (2024).
Cameron added Mayer's WBC belt to her WBO title, which she won with a points win over Michaela Kotaskova in April.
Cameron, 35, from Northampton not far from where she faced Mayer, was disappointed to lose out on a trilogy fight with Taylor, who will end her career vs. Flora Pili on Sept. 5.
But this win compensates somewhat for not facing Taylor in a deciding fight, and the accuracy of her hooks were crucial in disrupting Mayer's boxing.
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"Talk is so cheap and I showed that tonight, if you talk you've got to back it up," Cameron said.
"I want to do it again, over three minute rounds. You're boring Mikaela, go home."
Three-weight world champion Mayer, 36, who won the WBA, WBO and WBC junior middleweight titles last October with a unanimous decision over Mary Spencer, disputed the points verdict.
Her workrate seemed to match Cameron, but the English boxer landed the cleaner and harder shots.
"I beat Chantelle and if you want to do it again it won't be in the UK," Mayer said. "I outboxed her. I thought she was going to put the pressure on more. It's in our contact. It was a good fight, let's do it again."
Former undisputed junior welterweight champion Cameron made a fast start and Mayer was left with blood trickling from her right ear after receiving some heavy shots.
But this fight flowed one way and then the other. Mayer, from Las Vegas, started the second with some razor sharp jabs and her pace repelled Cameron after a promising start.
Mayer kept to her boxing in Round 3 and her intensity denied Cameron from planting her feet to land too many of her heavier shots. But Cameron had the better of some exchanges at close range in Round 4 and she landed a series of hooks in Round 5.
Mayer looked best when she worked behind her jab but she kept getting drawn in, which suited Cameron. The American was more disciplined and industrious in Round 7 and she threw more in Round 8, but had to absorb a big right hand from Cameron.
Both fighters slowed in the last couple rounds as inevitably the pace of their ferocious encounter took its toll.
Late in the ninth, Cameron was cut above her left eye by a head clash but that did not stop her hunting down Mayer in the last round.
Dubois cruises to comfortable win, set up unification bout
Also on the card, Caroline Dubois stormed to a comfortable defence of her WBC and WBO world lightweight titles with a unanimous points win over Amelia Moore.
Dubois (14-0-1, 5 KOs), younger sister of WBO world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, won nearly every round according to the judges to earn scores of 99-90, 99-90 and 98-91 over Moore (4-1, 1 KO).
Dubois, from south London, unified the lightweight titles in April when she outpointed Terri Harper but this was a more straightforward win for Dubois over Moore, from Colorado.
Victory for Dubois sets up a likely unification title fight vs. the winner of the clash between IBF champion Elif Nur Turhan and Alycia Baumgardner on Nov. 8.
Afterwards, Dubois and Baumgardner traded insults at ringside and it is the bigger matchup. This was only Moore's fifth professional fight but she made a strong start to make the first two rounds competitive.
Dubois then found gaps to thread her punches through in the third round and then landed some solid shots in the last 30 seconds of Round 4.
Moore complained about a head clash after being given a count in Round 5 when she stumbled to the canvas, but Dubois also landed a series of clean punches on the American.
What was beyond argument was Dubois' domination. She caught Moore with a good left through the guard in Round 7 and continued to land punches in Round 8.
Moore rallied early in the ninth and sustained her output to take the round, but Dubois' win was never in doubt.