Mikaela Mayer admitted Chantelle Cameron's post-fight trash talk "triggered" her angry reaction following their super-welterweight epic in Birmingham. The defeat was just the third of Mayer's professional career and cost her the unified belts. Mayer told Sky Sports she felt she had won the close contest and was prepared to give Cameron her props, but Cameron's mic work brought something out of her, causing her to act in a way she shouldn't have.

She traced the rivalry's flashpoint back to the face-off, suggesting Cameron may have held those words deep down. Cameron, who admitted she respected Mayer before the build-up soured, believes the hostility rebounded on the American. The contest exacted a toll, with both fighters visibly swollen by the ninth round.

A day later, Mayer struck a different tone, admitting she let the fight get too close and cannot be upset at the decision. She praised Cameron as a great fighter and expressed excitement to fix her mistakes. Victory burnished a Cameron CV that already carried the only professional defeat inflicted on Katie Taylor, although the Briton played down greatest-of-all-time talk, insisting Claressa Shields still holds that mantle.

Mayer confirmed a rematch clause exists and expects it to be activated. The American also revealed she had declined to give up her WBC belt to make the fight three-minute rounds.