'Waiting for the green light' – Who will Katie Taylor fight next and where?

BIG STAGE: Katie Taylor before her undisputed super lightweight championship fight with Chantelle Cameron at the 3Arena in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

If women’s boxing does eventually get its iconic trilogy in 2024, the crucial role played by Instagram should receive due recognition. Chantelle Cameron’s latest update on the potential bout came on that platform.

“Waiting for the green light for the trilogy to be a go ahead,” she declared on Sunday, three months after Katie Taylor became super lightweight world champion in a rematch at the 3Arena. “Both me and Katie Taylor have asked for the fight to happen as it’s 1-1. My terms are fair as I want the fight to gain the chance for redemption and give female boxing the trilogy it deserves. One last dance to see who really is Undisputed at 140.” 

It was on Instagram that Katie Taylor first called out Cameron once the Amanda Serrano rematch fell through. After her victory, the Northampton boxer said she sent Taylor a message to thank her for the opportunity, but she never got a reply. In her post-fight press conference, Taylor clarified she doesn’t even manage her own Instagram account.

The sense last November was that a final showdown seemed inevitable. Two committee boxers went toe-to-toe for 10 rounds. Promoter Eddie Hearn immediately talked about Croke Park. Earlier this year there were murmurs of Matchroom arranging a feasibility study from Grant Thornton in a bid to generate state support. Another chance for the historic occasion an Irish sporting legend deserves.

It was always a remote chance, at that.

GAA HQ is now “unlikely,” according to Hearn’s latest dispatches. He said last week it was due to TV dates and an announcement can be expected in the coming weeks. It is anticipated Taylor’s next showing will be in May or June. So why did Cameron feel the need to go public in search of confirmation?

Enter Amanda Serrano. The participant in that historic night at Madison Square Garden in 2022. She will face Nina Meinke on March 2. The German opponent has a win bonus and a knockout bonus in her contract. Enough to keep it interesting anyway.

In pre-match media dealings, Serrano made her case for another blockbuster. She was willing to compromise on her campaign for three-minute rounds for a possible Taylor rematch.

The 35-year-old Puerto Rican would be a fitting foe. For Taylor, win there and the dream of Cameron in Croke Park endures. What a fairytale that would be.

YouTuber Jake Paul, who is Serrano’s promoter, poured cold water on that likelihood last weekend. “For the record, we are not in any discussions on a Serrano Taylor rematch, don’t use her name for leverage,” he wrote on X. “A Katie Taylor rematch is something Amanda would like to do before she retires. But even if it never happens, her legacy as one of the GOATs of boxing is already cemented.” 

It remains to be seen if the Serrano-rematch ever happens at all. The same cannot be said for the other option. In her post urging for a deal to be done, Cameron posted a picture featuring three legendary trilogies: Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durán, Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward. The fact they can join that company will not be lost on a boxing diehard like Taylor or her devoted coach Ross Enamait. That trilogy is a matter of when, not if.