KATIE CHAN DO IT NEXT TIME..

DISAPPOINTMENT FOR TAYLOR AS SHE LOSES HOMECOMING CLASH

- NICOLA DONNELLY and KIM O'LEARY

OLYMPIC boxing gold medallist Michael Carruth has said Katie Taylor should exercise her rematch clause against Chantelle Cameron as he would want to fight the person who beat him.

In front of a crowd of 10,000 fans in the sold out Dublin's 3Arena on Saturday night, Katie's first Irish fight on home turf did not go to plan.

English fighter Cameron was scored 96-94 winner on two of the three scorecards with the third being scored as a 95-95 draw.

Carruth, who won the welterweight gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, said the Bray fighter was "under pressure from Cameron from the start".

Carruth, who turned pro in 1994 and retired in 2000, said: "Katie didn't look like she was on full cylinders.

"I don't know why. Her ability to get in a brawl and stay in a brawl wasn't there.

"Her sharpness wasn't there. She got caught with a lot of body shots - and that's soul destroying as it takes the air out of you. It's tough." He said Cameron fought a fantastic fight and got her game plan together really well.

Carruth added: "She put Katie under pressure from the start and kept her under pressure.

"I've never seen Katie go back so much in a fight.

"She obviously didn't have the strength to push Cameron back but that's the chance you take going up a weight division." Katie, the undisputed lightweight champion, had called out Cameron in a bold move to set up the fight.

Cameron is the champion in the weight class above which meant Katie had to put on weight to take her on.

Carruth added: "You might put the weight on but you have to put the strength up.