It was a night on which champions remained champions as Chantelle Cameron and Devin Haney kept hold of their gold. 

Dublin was infected with Katie Taylor fever last week as she made her long-awaited homecoming at the capital’s 3Arena. 

An Olympic flag bearer, an internationally capped football player and a boxing nonpareil - this was a week-long celebration of Ireland’s most iconic sporting figure.  

The crest of a frantic week, however, saw Taylor defeated for the first time as a professional. 

It was Northampton’s Chantelle Cameron who, playing an unobtrusive villain in amongst the chaos, walked away from the Republic as female boxing’s crowned head. 

It may have been easy on the night to forget that Cameron was the champion in all this. She walked first, played deputy on the fight poster, and even lost the luxury of hearing her national anthem in the ring. 

But acting as a champion and fighting like one are two different things. 

On the sounding of the first bell, in the mix of a ferocious atmosphere, she asserted the dominance that a champion would. 

Immediately Taylor was on the back foot, and out of reach of Cameron. 

She did begin to bring herself into the fight, by doing what she does best and throwing in bunches. Yet unrelenting, Cameron kept pursuing her target, dismissive of the power behind Taylor’s gloves. 

There was a noticeable contrast in the two’s fatigue levels, which became even more evident in the exchanges. 

In round six, and in true Katie Taylor style, she initiated one of those firefights that has punctuated her exciting career. Head down, the pair went at it and the arena responded. 

But Cameron, if anything, was encouraged by the gun battle, and moving into the championship rounds knew that she was in the driving seat. She shifted gear once again, taking control of the Taylor offensive and seeing herself over the line. 

To the cards it was, and still haunted by the events of Glasgow last February, team Cameron faced an apprehensive wait. 

That apprehension soon turned to relief as a SPLIT scorecard had Cameron as victor. 

It was the right choice, and it was the right moment, as female boxing’s most grossly underappreciated fighter finally stood as number one. 

It wasn’t the homecoming Taylor or Dublin wanted, but she once again showed that she is a born entertainer, and one devoid of trepidation. 

Her focus will now be on a rematch, but not the one that has consumed her last 12 months with Amanda Serrano. Taylor will have her eye on immediate revenge. 

Whilst Dublin was left alone to drink the night away, Las Vegas was bubbling towards one of the sport’s most anticipated match-ups. 

Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko was the atypical ‘chess match’ that boxing can sometimes exaggerate. However, this was the coming together of two masters of their craft. 

It was tense, it was absorbing, and it was extremely entertaining. 

The two fighters presented opposing approaches, making for rounds difficult to score. Whilst Haney was keen to let minutes pass, Lomachenko was set on throwing at mixed pace. 

As the fight settled, Haney upped his pace, but continued to work off his back foot. The left hand of Lomachenko was the persistent reminder of a hurtful puncher. 

When the two came within range, it was Haney who was intent on spilling the work. He still landed to the body when offered the opportunity, sinking in a sharp right hook halfway through the fourth. 

His switching between body and head was giving the elder statesman in Lomachenko some food for thought, but the Ukrainian was able to pierce Haney’s guard on approach. 

It was a fight that was passing the eye test, something that written word cannot do justice. 

Haney’s investment to the body was yet to be paying off in terms of damage, as Lomachenko continued to press the fight. A big shot landed on the button in the ninth to the delight of a pro-Loma crowd. 

Round ten was the challenger’s biggest, and Haney for the first time looked uneasy. His success continued in the eleventh, before a strong response from Haney in the twelfth and final round. 

The unanimous decision was that this was a fight difficult to score. The unanimous decision turned out to be one in favour of Haney, who took the cards 116-112 and 115-113 x2. 

It didn’t go down well with those inside the MGM, and nor with many on the online pages. 

But it was the result, and one that meant Haney was still the undisputed champion. 

It renders true the theory that boxing, even on its brightest nights, will never avoid the shadow of controversy. In my eyes, there should be little complaint in the champion walking away with his belts. 

But this is boxing, and complaining is what we do best. 

Whatever the future holds for both, we are lucky to have seem them share the squared circle. 

Oscar Bevis