Liam Cameron is working with a sports psychologist in hopes of strengthening his already robust mindset ahead of his lithe heavyweight clash with Brad Rea.
Anyone who knows Yorkshireman’s story he will know that reaching this stage in his life required considerable strength and perseverance, not to mention a boxing career.
Because of this, Cameron knows how incredibly crucial it is to maintain a robust attitude, especially in a sport like boxing.
By hiring a sports psychologist, the 35-year-old could gain a fresh perspective on the fear factor surrounding his chosen profession.
And this, as he tells Boxing News, only allowed him to better understand the reasons why he decided to practice the most hard sport.
“As humans, we complicate things. Our minds get carried away, we think about everything too much.
“As boxers, we have to have a surfer’s mindset: we can’t predict what waves will come, but we have to ride the wave when it comes. We can’t think, ‘Oh, this wave is too huge.’
“[The sports psychologist] he sent me a video [actor] Will Smith jumping out of a plane. Nobody forces Will Smith to get on a plane – just like in boxing, nobody forces us to fight.
“But all this fear accumulates in our head, and once we jump, the fear disappears.
“So, [working with a mindset coach has] It made me realize that I only box because I love it.”
Cameron still recalls his passion for the sport, but he’s still riding the wave of his points victory over Troy Jones in November.
It was quite a questionable result and perhaps not his best performance, but Cameron is gaining confidence because he was able to cope with the task after his injury.
“I took the fight on four weeks’ notice and got really badly injured. Being the person I am, I thought, ‘There are levels to this game. I can still beat this guy.’
“So I got into the ring, not being able to hit any huge shots or move my head, and I worked tough for myself. But if I can do that while properly injured, what will I be like now?”
“It was a trapped nerve in the shoulder joint, but it was pulling at my neck. Not many people would go through a struggle with that feeling.”
Indeed, Cameron is able to overcome the pain barrier more than most, even if it means performing a more menial task.
However, having fully recovered from his injury, the former Commonwealth champion is now determined to showcase his technical skills against Rei.
The two opponents will face each other on May 9, appearing on the undercard of Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, where Cameron expects to take full advantage of Rei’s alleged defensive shortcomings.
“We did a lot of southpaw sparring this camp because we know Brad likes change [stances].
“But I grew up in Sheffield, where fighters are often southpaws, so I actually prefer it [fighting] southpaws.
“I think Brad has the heart of a lion when he boxes, but I think that makes him not as good as he should be. He just ends up swinging because he wants to win so bad.”
Believing he is a level above, Cameron expects to convincingly defeat Rhea, the former European champion, yet he is prepared for waves of all shapes and sizes.
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