New Matchroom Boxing recruit Chantelle Cameron knows that time is of the essence for a professional boxer to realise their dreams, which is why she switched weight classes to challenge Adriana Dos Santos Araujo for the vacant WBC super-lightweight championship.
Cameron, 29, hasn't fought since Nov. 9 at London's famous York Hall, where her 10-round unanimous decision over Argentina's Anahi Ester Sanchez made her the mandatory challenger for the belt she will attempt to claim at the expense of the Brazilian on Oct. 4.
The win over Sanchez was her debut at super-lightweight (light-welterweight), a decision the Northampton fighter made after realising that the very top tier of women's boxers — including Katie Taylor — would remain elusive until her own resume gained some gold at world level.
That decision was further reinforced by Jessica McCaskill, who held the WBC belt at the time Cameron earned a title shot, vacating before she could face the Englishwoman in order to challenge — and defeat — Cecilia Brækhus to become undisputed welterweight champion.
Between all the talk that appears to put the likes of Taylor, McCaskill and Brækhus in somewhat of an inner circle, plus the lengthy delays of the coronavirus outbreak, Cameron did not want to wait any longer to be fighting for the big belts.
"Everyone wants to fight Katie Taylor, and I would have been hanging around, waiting," she said in a Matchroom Boxing interview on YouTube.
"But I’m 29 now, and I want my own world title, so MTK and Jamie [Moore, her trainer] said I should move up to super-lightweight and I got my mandatory there.
"Now I’m in this position, and it’s a short career so I don’t want to be wasting any time. With what has happened this year as well, it’s a perfect example that I had to go and find my own route.
"Since turning professional I’ve been waiting for this moment and it’s a dream come true, especially as it’s my debut on a Matchroom card.
"I’m 12-0 now but I feel like I’ve been waiting a long time for this opportunity. I’m not looking past her at all. The last thing I want to do is become complacent. I know she’s tough and I know Adriana’s going to give me a hell of a fight. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to get past Adriana if I want to earn the bigger fights.
"I train hard, I listen to my coaches and I’ve left no stone unturned. So now, it’s just a case of making sure I win it on fight night.
"I’m good at visualising. I visualise the fight in my head, and I visualise myself lifting the belt. And it looks good! I think it will suit me."
Cameron went on to explain how she has become the complete package since recruiting Moore as her trainer in March 2019 — something she hopes will become more apparent than ever, post-lockdown.
"I feel like I’ve become a better boxer, my coaches always say they’re adding new things to my ‘trolley’," she continued.
"On fight night, even if my opponent completely changed her style, after I’d been watching all of that footage of her fighting a different way, I’ve now got so much in my ‘trolley’ I can pull something out to adapt to any opponent and any situation."