Lyndon Arthur Edges Liam Cameron Via Split Decision, Eyes Bigger Opportunities At 175

Lyndon Arthur resumed his winning ways.

The former light heavyweight title challenger edged Liam Cameron via ten-round split decision. He had to sweat out a 95-93 scorecard for the underdog. That card was overruled by scores of 95-93 and 97-91 for Arthur in their Channel 5 main event Friday at Bolton Whites Hotel, Bolton, England.

Arthur (24-2, 16 knockouts) fought for the first time since a points loss to WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol (22-0, 12 KOs) last Dec. 23.

He started fast and landed his ramrod jab. The weapon quickly drew blood from the nose of Cameron (23-6, 10 KOs), who had won three fights after a 5-year hiatus from boxing. Arthur finished the round with a nice right hand an uppercut that got Cameron’s attention.

Cameron got the jump on his opponent in the early going of the second-round, with a combination of punches that had had Arthur covering up in the corner. However, the 33-year-old remained calm and though he had to hold of a spirited effort, he was able to land a snapping right hand of his own. The bell went to end the round and Arthur threw another right hand than caught Cameron, who seemed to think about it and made the most of the moment touching down. Arthur was admonished by referee Howard Foster for the infraction and was deducted a point.

In the third round Arthur got back to his jab which was key before relenting and engaging in a firefight. In the next round Cameron appeared to outwork Arthur, who in kind responded by hurting the Sheffield man with his right hand that send Cameron to the ropes. Cameron, who had never been stopped, used that experience and guile to roll with the punches and ride out the difficult patch early in the round.

Foster levelled up things by taking a point off Cameron for rabbit punching in the sixth-round. Both men’s faces continue to show signs of wear and tear from what had been a pretty good contest.

Cameron had more success in round seven, notably landing a right hand. Arthur responded by getting behind his jab and had to hold off the aggressive Cameron.

Arthur’s better gas tank played a part in the latter stages and it was him who pushed the action with Cameron visibly tired often relenting and boxing on the backfoot to get across the line to finish the fight.

“I might have dropped my level a little bit there, but I got the W,” said Arthur afterwards. “Maybe I misjudged the weight a bit, we know I didn’t make weight yesterday, it won’t happen again.

“I want big fights, whoever and whatever makes sense. Fair play to Liam that was a huge opportunity, thank you for sharing the ring with me, he gave it a good go. He ran a little bit at the end and that’s probably what made the scorecards so wide, he boxed like he was winning the fight, but he wasn’t really doing much, he was landing on the gloves.”

His promoter was impressed enough to set lofty goals for the immediate future.

“I don’t think Lyndon wants to wait around, he wants those big fights and I think the biggest fights are in Britain,” said Wasserman Boxing’s Nisse Sauerland. “You’ve got Dan Azeez, Josh Buatsi, Willy Hutchinson, I think Craig Richards will come back again. We want one of those names. He’s been in with Bivol, we need to get back up to that level. It wasn’t the best performance tonight and he still won, that’s the sign of a champion.”

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