'Future is bright' as Chantelle Cameron wins and again sets sights on Katie Taylor trilogy

The win saw the town star claim the interim WBC junior-welterweight title, bouncing back from the first defeat of her professional career at the hands of Katie Taylor in Dublin in November.

And Cameron once again reiterated her dream that she will be able to take on the Irish superstar in a deciding trilogy fight to win back her crowd as the undisputed super lightweight champion of the world before the end of the year.

Cameron had to work hard to beat a dogged and determined Mekhaled at the weekend.

She won a majority points verdict, with two of the judges having her winning by seven and six rounds respectively, with the third rather bizarrely scoring the fight as a 95-95 draw.

The fight was Cameron's first under the guidance of new trainer Grant Smith, and was also her first as part of the Queensberry Promotions team following her split from previous trainer Jamie Smith, as well as Matchroom.

The former Far Cotton amateur admitted it was a 'nerve-wracking' occasion for her, but she was pleased with her performance as she recorded the 19th professional win of her career.

"She (Mekhaled) was so tough," admitted Cameron. "I hurt my hand in one of the rounds, I jabbed her and I thought 'she has got a tough head!'

"But I did everything Grant (Smith) was asking of me.

"It's our first camp together, our first time in the corner and it was nerve-wracking.

"We have done sparring which has been brilliant, but when you are under the lights it is completely different.

"She is a tough girl, she has never been stopped and I was hurting her, but she was going nowhere.

"Now it is onwards and upwards. I have more time with Grant, the future is bright and I am happy."

And she was quick to call out Taylor for that third fight, with the pair winning one apiece after their two classic meetings to date.

"A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter and I am coming for everything. I keep saying it, I want everything, I want my belts back," Cameron told queensberry.co.uk

"That's the interim belt won and that's great, but that's not what I want.

"I just want to keep the momentum now. I don't want to be waiting around for what's next.

"Everybody knows who I want. I want to be busy, so let's get cracking and get her (Taylor) back out at the end of the year."

Saturday's fight was Cameron's first for eight months, and she admitted she felt under pressure to perform following the fallout and reaction to her loss to Taylor, and the Irish star's refusal to agree to a trilogy bout, instead opting go take a rematch with Amanda Serrano where the super lightweight belts she won off Cameron will be on the line.

"I was trying to make the pressure go away, telling myself there was no pressure, but there was," admitted Cameron.

"You shouldn't look at social media and other people's comments, but I know there was a lot of backlash and it has been a hard couple of months.

"But I have a great team around me, I have a great trainer, I am doing everything right, and I am back track and coming for those belts."