Liam Cameron travels 100 miles through hell to recover from the deepest grief of losing his career and stepdaughter.
The Sheffield fighter was handed an incredibly harsh four-year British boxing ban in 2018 after a cocaine metabolite was found in his system.
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And in 2020 he suffered another devastating blow when his stepdaughter died in a traffic accident just two days before her 21st birthday.
Struggling to cope, the former Commonwealth middleweight champion battled addiction and even survived an attempt on his own life.
But last year, after the sport welcomed him back and he won four fights in a row, he took part in a Sheffield-Manchester round-trip marathon to raise money in tribute to Tiegan and to prove his fitness to return to the ring.
“It was a really weird idea, me and my friend Hassan just wanted to see if we could do it,” Cameron told SunSport ahead of his clash with Lyndon Arthur on Friday night on Channel 5.
“We wanted to break down the ‘Welcome to Manchester’ sign and return.
“We then decided to take it even further than a challenge and used it to raise £1,300 to buy a bench for Tieghan.
“It took the best part of 24 hours with only a bag full of flapjacks and the last 10 miles were hell.
Chris Billam-Smith retains WBO cruiserweight belt by unanimous decision as he survives Richard Riakporhe hugfest“I’ve been through some bad times and tough trials, but those last few miles were something else.
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“Hassan and I were both crying, confused, in pain. It ended up like a therapy session.
“But we somehow did it, and being able to do that physically and mentally told me that returning to boxing would be okay.”
Cameron has always claimed his innocence but wisely did not want to cause a row with the British Boxing Board of Control after getting his licence back.
And the sport has welcomed him into the light-heavyweight division, with Eddie Hearn hosting him on a Matchroom show at Sheffield Arena in March and he now headlining on terrestrial TV.
He explained: “At the time I felt very lonely and I felt some people could have helped me a bit more, but I understand sport and it’s a business.
“Since my return, I feel like everyone who knows my story wants me to win.
“I’m the underdog, the outsider, the far-out fighter, but – especially in boxing – people love the guy and they want him to win.
“I first fell in love with boxing because of the Rocky movies, and I think people always like the fairy tale of the comeback more than the undefeated success.”
“I feel a bit sorry for Lyndon Arthur, he’s a Manchester player playing in a home show in Bolton, but I think I’ve got full support.”
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