Katie Taylor has been named champion in recess by the WBC after deciding to take a spell away from boxing, leaving Chantelle Cameron and Sandy Ryan to fight for the junior welterweight title.

Taylor (25-1, 6 KOs), a two-weight undisputed champion, last boxed July 11 when she beat Amanda Serrano for the third time.

The only defeat of her glittering career came at the hands of Cameron, who beat her via majority decision in May 2023 in their first encounter. Taylor, 39, had her revenge in the rematch six months later to claim all four 140-pound belts.

In her first fight back after the defeat, Cameron (21-1, 8 KOs) won the vacant interim WBC title and has since defended it twice. As such, the WBC in August ordered Taylor to defend her belts against the 34-year-old from Northampton.

The initial deadline for both sides to reach a deal was August 28, but Taylor’s team requested an extension on that initial period, which was granted.

With the new deadline fast approaching, Taylor has made her move and decided to step away from boxing to "attend to personal matters," according to WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman.

It is unclear exactly what has happened to the full belt as a result. Cameron has been the interim champion since July 2024 and has paid the sanctioning fees as such. However, rather than officially declaring Cameron the new champion, Sulaiman’s statement also confirmed that she must now box her fellow Brit Ryan to "ratify" the title.

On Taylor, he said: "She let us know that she plans to take some time away from the ring to attend to personal matters.

"The fight she was obligated to take was against Chantelle Cameron; by naming her Champion in Recess, we will order Sandy Ryan to fight Cameron to ratify the WBC super lightweight world title."

Ryan, 32, is undoubtedly one of the leading lights of women’s boxing but is rebuilding following back-to-back defeats to Mikaela Mayer. Her first steps on the road back was to outpoint 5-0-1 Jade Grierson in Sunderland on September 9.

The WBC's decision to mandate her for their 140-pound title seems like a curious one given she has only two wins in her last five outings and has not boxed at the weight since 2022. She is not in the WBC’s junior welterweight rankings but does appear third at welter.

Meanwhile, as Ryan and Cameron get set to fight for her old title, it is still not clear what Taylor will do after her hiatus.

Speaking to The Ring on Wednesday, her longtime promoter Eddie Hearn said: “She’s definitely not fighting again this year.

“And if she fights again at all, she will fight in the spring, summer of 2026. The earliest she will fight is May and, if I’m being honest, I’m not sure she will.

“The WBC will let Chantelle fight for the title and Katie can come back anytime and fight whoever she wants.”