There was a time where Chantelle Cameron was concerned over how long it would take to fight for undisputed championship status.

Not only has that day arrived, but it came with the pleasant surprise of facing a more established opponent than was originally the plan. The unbeaten Brit is set for her ten-round showdown with undisputed welterweight queen Jessica McCaskill, who moves back down in weight for their undisputed junior welterweight championship this Saturday on DAZN from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Cameron—who holds the WBC/IBF titles—was once due to meet Kali Reis for all the 140-pound chips, only for Reis to have to put her career on hold. The development prompted the American to give up her WBA/WBO titles which are at stake on Saturday, with Cameron instead set to face one of the sport’s pound-for-pound best and most notable female boxers in the world today.

“It’s happened to be of benefit to me,” Cameron told BoxingScene.com of the unexpected level of opposition upgrade. “I was hoping for the fight with Kali but now I’m getting a higher profile opponent.

“Jessica is the undisputed welterweight champion. This is a great chance for me to prove myself.”

McCaskill (12-2, 5KOs) has become a two-weight world champion, all in the wake of a competitive but clear points loss to Ireland’s Katie Taylor in their December 2017 WBA lightweight title fight. It was her last at the weight, moving up to 140 where she unified the WBC and WBA titles in back-to-back wins and then defended before conquering the welterweight division thanks to a pair of wins over undisputed welterweight champ and pound-for-pound queen Cecilia Braekhus.

The undisputed welterweight championship is not at stake, essentially allowing the Chicagoland boxer to play with house money on Saturday. Cameron initially pushed for the fight to play out as a two-weight championship, though she will gladly settle for a second payday to achieve that goal.

“I’m good at 140, but I will consider moving up in weight for the right fight and opportunity,” admitted Cameron. “Jessica is still the undisputed welterweight champion. She has those titles tucked away. After I beat her on Saturday, maybe we can meet again at welterweight so I can become two-division undisputed champion.”

Cameron (16-0, 8KOs) has made three defenses of the WBC 140-pound title she has held since October 2020 when she outpointed undefeated Adriana dos Santos Araujo over ten rounds. The 31-year-old Northampton native added the IBF chip in a ten-round nod over Mary McGee last October 30 in London. She was due to next face Kali Reis, even traveling to the U.S. and sitting ringside for Reis’ narrow win over Jessica Camara to unify the WBA/WBO belts last November 19 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

When it was clear that fight wouldn’t happen, Matchroom Boxing turned to a back-up plan. Cameron and McCaskill both enjoyed wins earlier this year before being steered towards one another. The bonus of Reis making her titles available to allow for an undisputed champion to be crowned at 140 only makes this fight that much bigger.

For Cameron, it also comes with the opportunity to prove that she belongs at the sport’s elite level.

“Jessica is not my cup of tea, personally. But I respect every boxer who steps into the ring and I respect what she has achieved,” acknowledged Cameron. “I know that she is obviously going to look for a dog fight. She is very good at forcing her opponents to fight that way but she doesn’t possess the skills that I got.

“I’m going to beat her the best way I know how.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox