Karla Ramos Zamora of Mexico, left, takes a blow from Jessica Camara of Canada during their super lightweight bout in Laval, Que., Thursday, March 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

After a loss and a draw in championship fights earlier in the year, Canadian lightweight Jessica (The Cobra) Camara looks to position herself for another title shot with a win Saturday.

The 37-year-old Camara takes on Czechia's Lenka Volejnikova in the co-main event of "Champ Promotions 7: Fighting Spirit" boxing card at Victoria's Bay Street Armoury.

Camara (14-5-1) calls the bout with the 39-year-old Volejnikova (3-4-1) a "stepping-stone" to her next shot at a championship belt.

"I feel like I'm there," said Camara, a native of Cambridge, Ont., who now calls Montreal home. "I'm keeping myself active just until the phone call comes. I feel like those (title) opportunities are going to be there but I'm not going to just sit around and wait for them."

Volejnikova, a southpaw, is a bit of an unknown quantity. But Canara says she is ready for anything.

"I'm coming in ready for war," she said.

The main event pits Brandon Colantonio (5-1-0) against Jaye Byard (8-4-0) for the WBC USA bridgerweight (super-cruiserweight) title. The WBC introduced the bridgerweight division in 2020 for fighters weighing 200 to 224 pounds, bridging the gap between cruiserweight and heavyweight.

Byard, from Surrey, B.C., holds the Canadian Professional Boxing Council heavyweight title while Victoria's Colantonio is the No. 4 contender.

Promoter Jason Heit says it's the first WBC title fight in B.C. since Michael Spinks defended his light-heavyweight title against Oscar Rivadeneyra in December 1983 at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum.

Built in 1915, the Bay Street Armoury is no stranger to boxing.

On Dec. 10, 1945, heavyweight world champion Joe (The Brown Bomber) Louis beat Bob Frazier, billed as the U.S. navy boxing champion, in a three-round exhibition in front of some 2,500 people.

Saturday's fight is Camara's third of the year.

"It's been busy, but I like busy. A lot of stuff happening. A lot of memories made," Camara said with a laugh.

Camara spent time in Dallas preparing for Saturday's fight, working with WBA, WBO and IBF junior lightweight champion Alycia (The Bomb) Baumgardner.

Baumgardner was due to face Canadian Leila Beaudoin in the co-main event of the now-cancelled Jake Paul-Tank Davis card Nov. 14 in Miami.

In January, Camara faced WBC lightweight champion Caroline Dubois in Sheffield, England, in a bout that ended after two rounds in a technical draw because of a cut Camara suffered in an accidental clash of heads.

"I never really got in my rhythm … It wasn't my greatest fight," Camara said of the short-notice bout.

Camara also trained with Baumgardner prior to her July loss to England's Chantelle Cameron for the WBC interim super- lightweight title on the undercard of the Katie Taylor versus Amanda Serrano trilogy fight in New York. Cameron won a unanimous decision (98-92, 99-91, 97-93).

Fighting at Madison Square Garden, on all female-card, was "a dream come true," said Camara.

It was also the first fight that saw Camara step away from her full-time job — she is an inspector at ATS Containers, a shipping container company — to focus on training.

"I thought I had a great performance against one of the pound-for-pound greatest in the world," said Camara. "I didn't come out with the result I wanted but I believe that we put on a great show and I got the respect of a lot of boxing fans."

Camara had defeated previously unbeaten former two-division world champion Choi Hyun-mi to claim the vacant WBA female lightweight gold championship — essentially an interim title — by split decision in Suwon, South Korea, in April 2024. She no longer holds the title.

Camara started boxing at 19, taking up the sport to help deal with emotional issues after the death of her godmother.

"When I walked in the boxing gym, it felt like home," she recalled. "It was like my place to express myself. Everything just kind of made sense. Like I knew that's where I belonged."

She turned pro in 2017. Today, in addition to her full-time job and training, she also coaches young fighters.

It makes for a busy schedule. Most days she wakes up at 5 a.m. for a run and workout before going to work. She trains on her lunch break then returns to work. In the evenings, she returns to the gym to coach.

Camara's wife Erika Hernandez understands. Hernandez, an active fighter herself, was Camara's second opponent as a pro with Camara winning by decision in October 2017 in Hamilton.

Saturday's card is sanctioned by the World Boxing Council (WBC).

Heit, co-founder of Champ Promotions, competed in boxing, kickboxing and MMA. Away from the cage or ring, he looked after the likes of Drew Barrymore, David Duchovny, Nicolas Cage and Robbie Williams as a bodyguard.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2025