LIAM CAMERON has claimed his most meaningful win since 2018, back when he successfully defended his Commonwealth middleweight title against Nicky Jenman.
That result – a second-round stoppage – was then overturned to a no-contest after the ‘Cannonball’ tested positive for Cocaine and, in doing so, was handed a four-year ban.
Despite his claims of innocence, Cameron, 24-7-1 (10 KOs), was forcibly exiled from the sport and, soon enough, began to develop a spiralling alcohol addiction.
But since then, the Sheffield man has returned to the ring and drastically turned his life around, most notably due to his two high-profile encounters with Ben Whittaker.
It only arrived as a surge of pure delight, then, when, featuring on the undercard of Joshua Buatsi vs Zach Parker earlier this evening, Cameron secured by far his most notable victory in recent years.
Troy Jones looked the stronger combatant early doors, his approach purposeful, but Cameron nonetheless landed an eye-catching sequence of left hooks in the opener.
The lead hand of Cameron proved an effective weapon in the second round, too, so accurate that it caused a smear of damage to appear around his opponent’s left eye.
Jones, 13-2 (6 KOs), however, resumed his relentless pursuit in a largely one-sided fourth visit, practically latching himself onto Cameron’s chest as he enjoyed ample success with his short-range attacks.
Up to that point, it had been a razor-thin battle between two contrasting styles, though a somewhat concerned expression seemed to emerge across Cameron’s face in the fifth round.
It was as if the 35-year-old was suddenly enlightened to the capabilities of Jones, whose relentless work rate saw him produce another frenetic display in the sixth frame.
Cameron, to his credit, then gave a tremendous response in the following three minutes, noticeably elevating his activity as Jones appeared to be saving his gas for the later rounds.
Again, it was a plucky effort from both men, but the tidier work of Cameron, who rained in a series of uppercuts, may have been enough to edge the eighth and ninth sessions.
A cut above Jones’ left eye, meanwhile, was only worsening, yet the Birmingham man rarely took his foot off the gas as he maintained his high-volume performance.
It was Cameron, though, who ultimately had his hand raised, with the judges scoring it 97-93 and 96-94, twice, in his favour.
Jones will undoubtedly feel aggrieved by the result, as their light-heavyweight encounter at the Co-op Live Arena, Manchester, could have quite easily gone either way.
