Chantelle Cameron and Mikaela Mayer are at odds over the specifics of their proposed bout — including what weight class it should be fought at, and length of the rounds.
The pair faced off in London on Sunday and declared their intention to fight each other next, insisting a deal could be made, after Cameron (22-1, 8 KOs) dominated Michaela Kotaskova to capture the vacant WBO light middleweight title, becoming a two-weight world champion.
Cameron has said she prefers the fight to be down at welterweight (147 pounds), where Mayer (22-2, 5 KOs) holds the WBO title, while the American told ESPN the bout will be at 154 pounds, where she is also WBC and WBA champion, for a unification.
“It’s going to be at 154 and it’s going to be at two-minute rounds because I have the WBC belt and they won’t allow for us to go to three [minute rounds],” Mayer said.
“I literally get paid more for a unification fight and for undisputed. If I just defend my belt at 147, I’m not moving forward, not unifying, I’m making less money. My contract says that. It’s literally how my contract works.
“She just won the belt at 154, I’m going to take that back, the belt I just vacated, and then I’m going to continue to move forward to undisputed at 154.
“We’re the type of fighters that could go three-minute rounds but I’m not willing to backtrack my career for a stance. I want to make the biggest fights, collect the most belts.”
Cameron insisted she would like to fight down at welterweight which is a better fit for her.
“I want to go down a weight. I think that weight was a bit too much for me,” Cameron told her post-fight news conference. “I felt the size in there a bit. She [Kotaskova] was really tough. I think down a weight I could have got the stoppage, but that weight is not for me.
“I would love it to be three-minute rounds and I think Mikaela would do three-minute rounds. It would be a shame to go back to two, it would kind of be like going backwards.”
Mayer had also been in talks to fight unified welterweight champion Lauren Price for a huge undisputed clash. While Price’s promoter Ben Shalom has previous told ESPN he is confident the fight can be made, it now appears a distant possibility with Mayer intent on fighting Cameron.
Mayer vs. Cameron could land in either the U.S. or U.K. but Mayer said it will likely be in America, which Cameron said she would be open to.
