WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced yesterday that undisputed super lightweight champion Katie Taylor “plans to take some time away from the ring to attend to personal matters,” leading the sanctioning body to name her “Emeritus” champion and vacate her title. They will instead order top contender Chantelle Cameron to face Sandy Ryan for the belt. with Taylor free to challenge the winner should she return to the ring.
Cameron (21-1, 8 KO) knocked Taylor from the ranks of the unbeaten in 2023,
but came up short by majority decision in their rematch six months later. She’s since picked up a trio of decision wins, the most recent over Jessica Camara this past July in the second defense of her interim belt.
Ryan (8-3-1, 3 KO), owner of one of boxing’s most deceptive records, has spent the majority of her pro career at 147. Her most notable bouts saw her settle for a draw in what looked like a clear win over Jessica McCaskill, smash Terri Harper for the WBO belt six months later, then lose a pair of competitive decisions to Mikaela Mayer. This would mark her first appearance at 140 since a 2022 rout of Anahi Ester Sanchez.
This has the potential to be yet another terrific fight in the finest era of women’s boxing in recent memory. We’ll let you know if and when they get it over the line.
