On October 6 2023, Liam Cameron returned from a five-year lay-off and outpointed the 2-2-2 Robbie Connor at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield.
On October 6 2024, Cameron boarded a flight to Saudi Arabia. On Saturday, he will box the Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker in Riyadh.
Cameron’s struggles outside the ring – the harsh four-year ban he received after returning a positive test for metabolites of cocaine; the tragic loss of his step-daughter; the resultant struggles with drink and depression – are well documented but he has been rewarded for persevering where many others would have given up.
The 33 year old may be the underdog on Saturday but he is in Saudi Arabia for a fight.
In June, and just three easy wins into his comeback, the former Commonwealth middleweight champion took what many deemed to be a gigantic step up in level against the former world-title challenger Lyndon Arthur.
Arthur may have come unstuck in a WBA title challenge against Dmitry Bivol but he remains a terribly testing night’s work at domestic level. Cameron produced an excellent display and pushed the Mancunian to the wire before losing a close split decision.
Cameron, 23-6 (10 KOs), is well aware that although he is a good fighter with an intriguing story, he is the opponent on Saturday. Everybody who puts a camera or microphone in his face before the fight will be polite and ask about his journey, but not many will have seriously considered the possibility of him upsetting Whittaker.
Cameron believes that his performance against Arthur proved that he is a true, capable light heavyweight, and that his ability is being underestimated.
“If I beat Ben, it's not the worst upset in boxing we've seen and I can really, really punch as well,” he told BoxingScene. “I don't know because I'm not the one taking them but everyone who's sparred me says I can really punch.”
“I don't know if people think I'm just a come-forward fighter. Lyndon is a devastating puncher and if I would have just walked in, he'd have knocked me clean out. And I think I got hit with about four big right hands.
“I think in the eighth round, I didn't see one coming and he whacked me and I thought, ‘Fucking hell, what was that?’ So I put my hands up, found out I was all right and then stuck my tongue out and threw about eight shots back.”
The occasion is likely to draw something out of Whittaker, 27. Nobody – maybe even Whittaker himself º knows exactly what that will be. Will he use the stage to show the world his true potential as a fighter or will he enter showman mode and try to create a spectacle?
Cameron isn’t concerned either way. He would love Whittaker to dispense with the skills that carried him to an Olympic silver medal and stand toe to toe in the centre of the ring in the Kingdom Arena but he is smart enough to know that that is unlikely to happen. Cameron is also confident enough in his abilities to believe that Whittaker will quickly realise that he can’t take the type of risks that have made him such a viral sensation.
All he can do is prepare for the best possible version of Whittaker and see what happens when the first bells rings.
“He'll have a sharp punch and I think this is going to be Ben's best performance,” he said. ”He's going to have to go up levels himself. If he shows me any weakness I'm going to take it and it'll feed my fire.
“People watch his fights and he’s showboating and he's looking terrific. I'm not being horrible here but if I put you in a ring with me – I don't know if you’ve boxed – but if I put my hands behind my back and my trainer went, ‘Right, hit him in the face. You can't hit him back’. Probably, I'll make you miss nine times out of 10.
“This is what we're talking about and there's people deluded. You look at those highlight reels that have got three million views when he's tapping them on the head. This a hard fight for him. It's a hard fight for me as well. I'm not going to sit here and say it's not.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79