Chantelle Cameron may be facing Jessica Camara for the first time this Friday in New York City, but the Canadian contender has always been on the interim WBC junior welterweight champion’s radar.

“I always knew this fight would happen,” said Cameron. “Her name's been brought up a few times and I've always said yeah for that fight, but now it's finally coming around and it's signed, sealed and about to be delivered.”

When Cameron added the IBF title to her WBC crown by defeating Mary McGee in October 2021, the talk was about the winner facing the winner of Camara vs. Kali Reis a month later. Cameron did her part and Reis defeated Camara, but the unification fight never happened.

Not that Cameron suffered, career-wise. After beating Victoria Bustos, the Northampton native became the undisputed champion at 140 pounds with a November 2022 win over Jessica McCaskill, and six months later, she handed Katie Taylor the first and only loss of her career. Taylor, who headlines this week’s event at Madison Square Garden against Amanda Serrano, won the rematch, but Cameron has since defeated Elhem Mekhaled and Patricia Berghult to keep her place at the top of the division.

There are question marks about that place, though, as Cameron prepares to face Camara. Mainly, where does she go from here should she get her hand raised for the 21st time as a pro? The natural fight, regardless of Friday’s main event result, is a rubber match with Taylor, but with many speculating that Taylor-Serrano 3 will be the Ireland native’s final fight that ship may be sailing. But there are some interesting matchups if Cameron moves up to welterweight for bouts against Lauren Price, Mikaela Mayer, Natasha Jonas or Sandy Ryan, or if 135-pounders Caroline Dubois or Terri Harper move up.

Bottom line, Cameron can’t be thinking about mandatories or stay-busy fights. It’s all about fights that get her up for roadwork in the morning and motivate her to make the sacrifices necessary to stay at the top of the game. So when MVP started signing big names left and right, Cameron was all-in.

“It was for the big fights,” she said. “The elite females were signing with MVP and I feel like it's going to be easier to get back in the big fights. I was looking at it as either join them or get left behind. So I've joined them.”

As far as big goes, it doesn’t ger any bigger than fighting on Friday’s historic all-female card. And with it being Cameron’s first U.S. appearance since she halted Melissa Hernandez in Las Vegas in 2021, “Il Capo” is looking forward to her visit to the Big Apple.

“I'm so excited,” said Cameron. “What an opportunity and bucket list for every boxer to box in New York at Madison Square Garden. It’s what boxers can only dream of, and it's going to be happening for me. I'm ecstatic.”

Big fights, big nights. It can almost distract a fighter from the task at hand. Not this fighter.

“Oh, I'm always on point,” said Cameron. “I don't care who I'm fighting, I'm always on point because I have a lot to lose. I know that I win this fight, then I'll be fighting for the world title next. So I'm not really concerned if is she’s going to turn up and who she's beat because I just feel like she's not faced anyone like me. So that's the difference. I'm not them and she's never faced anyone like me. I'm more focused on what I'm going to do and I'm too determined and I've got way too much to lose to throw it away.”

That’s champ talk, and Cameron isn’t accustomed to living and talking any other way. That also means that for all that talk of what’s next, she’s only concerned with what’s in front of.her.

“I'll keep it basic,” she said. “There's plenty of big fights, but I've got to get through Jessica. I've never been one of them that overlooked my opponents, so I'm going to focus on the job at hand. But there's plenty of big fights and I've got to get through this to get my hands back on them.”