Joey’s Corner: Arise ‘King’ Arthur as Lyndon and Liam lead underdog charge

The British light heavyweight division’s old guard held firm on Saturday night, as Liam Cameron and Lyndon Arthur both scored upsets over younger fighters. On a huge evening for the division in Manchester, topped by Joshua Buatsi’s controversial points win over Zach Parker, it was two old stagers who hit the headlines.

Read on for Joey’s Corner, your round-up of this weekend’s action with a look ahead to boxing odds from two other light heavyweight main events.

Buatsi’s bizarre points win over Parker has been litigated endlessly and will continue to be scrutinised elsewhere. Since Josh Taylor’s questionable 2022 decision win over Jack Catterall in defence of his undisputed 140lbs title, there is nothing the British boxing fans love more than groaning about a poor decision. 

So here in my Corner, we’re going to take a different tack. Because on Frank Warren’s light-heavyweight-heavy Manchester Arena card on Saturday night, two 175-pounders overcame the odds to keep their names in the conversation in British boxing’s busiest division.

I told you Cameron would get the job done. My preview summed the fight up thus; “With these men at their best, Cameron knows too much for (Troy) Jones at this stage.” Ultimately, that reflects what went down in the city of Manchester.

The victory was pivotal at a turbulent time in Cameron’s career. After losing a close decision to Arthur in June 2024, ‘Cannonball’ was back out in October against unbeaten Olympic silver medalist Ben Whittaker. Cameron seemed to have worked his man out in Riyadh, giving his illustrious foe more trouble than his previous eight professional opponents combined.

But the potential upset was blighted when the pair fell out of the ring in a clinch across the ropes. Whittaker was stretchered out as a result of his injuries, while the fight went to the cards. The decision after six rounds was a technical draw, but the ascension of Cameron and inconclusive ending meant a rematch was a certainty. 

The sequel took place at the BP Pulse Arena in Birmingham in April. Whittaker won in two rounds, removing all doubt. Except the doubt surrounding the stoppage, which many felt was early. But still, Whittaker felt enough vindication to cry in his post-fight presser then later leave BOXXER for Matchroom. 

Whittaker is out for the first time under Eddie Hearn’s promotional concern at the end of the month, when he takes on 19-1 German Benjamin Gavazi. That WBC silver light heavyweight title clash takes place back at the BP Pulse Arena in Birmingham. Whittaker is a 1/16 favourite in that bout as it stands, with his foe priced at 9/1.

Back to Cameron and many thought the fact he was 35 years old and was coming off a two-round stoppage loss would spell doom. The former Commonwealth middleweight champion has had his share of wars and 27-year-old Jones was favoured to pick over the bones.

Well Cameron went to war once more. It was a punishing 10 rounds for both men in Manchester Arena, the house that the late Ricky Hatton built. His part in the immense boxing legacy of the building was acknowledged on the night. The fighters honoured that legacy in the ring, with a back-and-forth brawl epitomising the action ‘The Hitman’ used to bring in his blue-clad days of glory.

Cameron got the nod but Jones will be back. You don’t stand toe-to-toe with a man like ‘Cannonball’ without having some serious mental and physical toughness. But Cameron moves on, likely securing one more big fight in a career of ups and downs.

Another man, one who knows Cameron well, secured his own path back to the big time. Arthur was not expected to take Bradley Rea’s European light heavyweight title. At 34 and coming off two losses and that tight Cameron win in his last three bouts, it seemed like ‘King’ Arthur might be ready to abdicate the throne.

But in an intense Manchester derby, Lyndon Arthur climbed off the canvas in the second round to secure the most prestigious professional title of his career. The local feeling was stoked with Rea wearing the blue of his beloved Manchester City while Arthur battled in Manchester United red. But these two could have been wearing potato sacks and fighting in a phone box and the action would still have been scintillating.

I wondered in my preview if the “brutal blows from Bivol and Yarde in recent years” had blunted Arthur’s edge. If the challenger would struggle with another intense opponent having had a punishing trilogy with Anthony Yarde and taken a hammering from the best light heavyweight in the world, lineal champ Dmitry Bivol.

Yarde beat Arthur on points last time out, at Wembley Stadium on the Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn undercard in April. ‘The Beast from the East” has used that win to secure a crack at WBC light heavyweight titlist David Benavidez. That fight takes place on November 22 and Yarde is your 5/1 underdog. Champion Benavidez is priced at 1/8.

Arthur rose to the occasion on Saturday night and can now call himself European champion. It was a peach of a fight, with punch and counter-punch exchanged with professorial precision. 

Sadly, Buatsi being given a head-scratching nod over Parker in the main event has all but erased Cameron and Arthur winning their respective wars from the consciousness. But light heavyweight is a stacked division in the UK. Taking away those in the ring on Saturday night, these shores can still call on Yarde, Callum Smith, Willy Hutchinson, Craig Richards and Ezra Taylor. 

Fights are there for the winners and losers on Saturday. Parker’s performance is good enough for another chance, perhaps opposite European champion Arthur? Cameron might fancy a rematch with the ‘King’? Or perhaps Queensberry could match him with a rebounding Rea? Taylor is with Queensberry, where does he fit? Does Buatsi’s questionable win earn him another foray into world level, or does Parker get a rematch? 

So many fighters, so many questions. It will be fascinating to see where Warren’s light heavyweight chips fall. But Cameron and Arthur were written off to the point nobody expected them to be in this conversation come Monday morning. That, in itself, should be applauded.

Image Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney

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