Exclusive:Sheffield light-heavyweight Liam Cameron no longer blinded by the lights as he prepares for Brad Rea test
Sheffield light-heavyweight speaks to The Yorkshire Post ahead of his battle with Brad Rea
Sheffield’s Liam Cameron is set to fight at one of the most eagerly-anticipated boxing events of the year - but is no longer fazed by the bright lights.
The 35-year-old resumed his career in 2023, five years on from his last bout. He had been issued a four-year ban for an anti-doping violation, one that was upheld despite his repeated protestations of innocence.
Since returning to the ring, Cameron has ascended to dizzy heights he had not reached prior to his hiatus.
The light-heavyweight battled the unbeaten Ben Whittaker in Saudi Arabia and at Birmingham’s 15,685-capacity bp pulse LIVE before toppling Troy Jones at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.
Liam Cameron no longer mesmerised
Tonight (May 9), he will return to the Co-op to lock horns with Brad Rea head of the heavyweight collision between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley.
“When I first got on that Saudi card, I was mesmerised by the boxers and even the people who were doing interviews,” Cameron told The Yorkshire Post. ‘I see you on the telly, I never thought I'd be meeting you in real life’.
“Now, for this Dubois and Wardley card, it's not bothered me. I'm just like ‘I'm boxing on that show, I've been here before, I belong on it, that's why I'm on it’. I've got a new three-fight deal with Frank Warren and sometimes I think, ‘well why have they signed me?’ I need to stop thinking like that, I need to think they've signed me for a reason.”
‘Prepared for a bloodbath’
Cameron has been put before some of the country’s most revered fighters and proven he is not simply cannon fodder. However, having won just one of his last four bouts, the Yorkshireman knows he must push himself to the limits to stay near the sharp end of the light-heavyweight division.
“I’ve just finished a sprint session that three weeks ago, broke me to my knees, nearly crying,” he said. “I know it sounds daft, but that's how hard I've been training. Today, I've completed it with flying colours.
“I've prepared for a bloodbath, a high-intensity fight, a grueller. I'm not ever going to be a person that thinks the fight's going to be easy, I've prepared for a solid one.”
Cameron has formed a strong bond with fellow Yorkshire boxers and is a believer in the benefits of working as a unit. He has worked closely with the likes of Dalton Smith and Junaid Bostan, but his empathetic side will take a backseat when he ventures across the Pennines.
“It's me versus me,” he said. “It's me versus a body that's trying to knock my head off. I try to distance myself from the person I'm fighting, I just take him as an object.”