Chantelle Cameron Cruises Past Victoria Bustos, Ellie Scotney Outworks Maria Roman in London

 

With Chantelle Cameron and Kali Reis both emerging victorious in their respective ‘Road to Undisputed’ bouts within three weeks of one another last autumn, it was presumed that the two would next square off in a winner-take-all finale. Here we are with summer almost upon us and no matchup between Reis and Cameron in sight.

It seems that they have encountered some unspecified bumps along the ‘Road to Undisputed,’ though there have been indistinct murmurings having to do with Kali Reis’ health. Hopefully this is nothing serious, and Kali’s well-being of course takes top priority, but Cameron was nevertheless itching to get back into the ring.

There was also her affiliation with the corrupt and now defunct MTK Global to consider. Long tied to the Irish organized crime syndicate run by its co-founder Daniel Kinahan, MTK was forced to cease operation last month. Cameron admits to being driven to her wit’s end by it all to the point that she briefly considered leaving boxing behind.  

Rather than sit idly by, spinning her wheels in neutral while waiting for the situations with Reis and MTK to sort themselves out, Chantelle opted to hit the accelerator and motor full speed ahead toward London’s O2 Arena Saturday evening where she would put her WBC and IBF super-lightweight straps up for grabs against former IBF 135-pound titleholder Victoria Noelia Bustos.

The 23-6 Argentinian challenger rode a four-fight win streak into the weekend, her last defeat suffered at the hands of then-undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus back in November 2019. An eleven year veteran of the prize ring, Bustos was just six bouts into her pro career (all wins) when she received her first world title shot. She put up a valiant effort against the undefeated defending WBC lightweight champion Erica Anabella Farias, but came up short on the scorecards.

Just ten months later, Bustos claimed the vacant IBF world lightweight title by narrowly outpointing Ana Laura Esteche. She would defend her championship successfully on five occasions before relinquishing it to Katie Taylor in their unification fight at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in 2018. In the meantime, she was once again bested by Erica Farias, who had by then moved up to the 140-pound division and held the WBC championship.

That very same title now being in Chantelle Cameron’s possession, the heavy-hitting champion from Northampton saw fit to give Bustos her second crack at the green and gold belt, in addition to its IBF counterpart, on Saturday night. Bustos, who has neither been stopped nor notched any knockouts in 29 prior fights, competed as recently as March 19 when she eked out a six-round majority decision over 2-4 Erica Juana Gabriela Alvarez. Regardless, Chantelle, respectful of the Argentine’s impressive resume, vowed not to take her challenge lightly as a mere stay-busy opportunity.

Indeed, Bustos proved to be crafty and mostly elusive throughout the first four rounds as Cameron walked her down behind her left jab but had limited success in landing anything meaningful behind it thanks to her challenger moving her head off the line and frequently lowering herself into awkward crouches. Not until the midway point of the fight did Cameron begin to vary her punch selection to great effect, tagging Bustos with multiple body shots and taking advantage of the opportunity to throw uppercuts whenever the Argentine would duck down.   

The difference in hand speed was evident for all to see, especially Chantelle Cameron who effortlessly telegraphed and slipped the vast majority of the looping, slow-motion hooks Bustos would uncork. Cameron assumed full command from that point forward by dictating the pace, bouncing on the balls of her feet to beckon Bustos forward and proceeding to pepper her with quick combinations. 

A sizable mouse which took up residence beneath Bustos’ right eye near the conclusion of round seven could be directly attributed to the champion’s relentless jackhammer of a left jab. Due credit must be extended to Bustos, who was as game as they come and never betrayed the slightest hint of being on the verge of capitulation, but Cameron simply appeared to be relishing the opportunity to get in some overdue and much-needed ring time against a tough, experienced foe and rode into the final round as if in cruise control.

Rather than customarily touch gloves at the outset of round ten, the two warriors embraced in a classy show of mutual admiration, which they had also done at the previous day’s weigh-in and would again at the tolling of the final bell. To the surprise of no one, Cameron retained her titles with a clean sweep of all three scorecards. 

What next? Who next? Chantelle obviously wants to follow through on the grand design of facing Kali Reis to become undisputed champion at 140 pounds, but isn’t ruling out the possibility of moving down to 135 for a potential super clash with Katie Taylor, or jumping up to welterweight to tackle Jessica McCaskill, both of whom are the sovereign rulers of their respective divisions.  

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Former IBF bantamweight champion Maria Cecilia Roman (16-6-1), who had her four-and-a-half-year reign ended by Ebanie Bridges on March 26, presented a significant step up in opposition for up-and-comer Ellie Scotney on Saturday’s undercard.

At 24, Scotney is only three years removed from a decorated sojourn in the amateur ranks and is fifteen years younger than Roman, against whom Ellie was making the maiden defense of her WBA intercontinental super-bantamweight title, claimed this past February by edging out a decision by the slimmest of margins over Jorgelina Guanini.

A spirited scrap from the opening bell, Roman’s age was in no way a detriment to her brand of walk-forward offense, as she willingly took the lead in engaging with her younger, more sprightly adversary. Using the patience, technique, and ring IQ developed and sharpened throughout the course of her amateur career, Scotney made Roman’s aggression work against her. 

Comfortable in her ability to work off the backfoot, Ellie racked up the early rounds in her favor by counterpunching quickly and sharply. The middle rounds were contested more so at close quarters, and Scotney was able to outwork Roman by mixing body shots with short chopping uppercuts to her best advantage before settling back into her more familiar rhythm of boxing from the outside and moving around the ring to get Roman to swing and miss more often than not.

An accidental clash of heads in round nine produced a crimson river which cascaded down Roman’s face, originating from a cut near the hairline. With bloodstains smearing her yellow tank top, Scotney closed the show with the confidence and ring generalship you would expect from a veteran fighter, taking a unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91 x2) from the seasoned but clearly out hustled Maria Cecilia Roman. 

Despite having only five outings on her professional resume, Scotney is convinced that this impressive performance proves that she is ready for prime time. Asked during a post-fight interview who she would like to square off against the most in the near future, Ellie specifically called out Roman’s successor Ebanie Bridges, saying that “the time for talking is over.”