Whenever a fighter loses for the first time, it is very tempting from them to overanalyse the causes and consequences of the defeat and risk throwing away years of successful hard work over one bad night.

After losing his undefeated record to Ezra Taylor earlier this year, Troy Jones had no such thoughts.

Jones was disappointed but the loss hasn’t left any lasting scars or made the popular light heavyweight question his ability.

He hasn’t lay awake worrying about how the defeat will affect his ticket sales or wondering if he should rethink his approach.

Jones just wanted to get straight back in the ring. He does that this weekend. Jones (13-1, 6 KOs) will fight Liam Cameron (23-7-1, 10 KOs) at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. The event will be broadcast by DAZN.

“You know what? I don't think about anything on the outside,” Jones (13-1, 6 KOs) told The Ring.

“I had an interview the other day and they asked me why I'm in it. I'm in it because I fight. I love fighting. I’m not in it for financial reasons, I was financially good before I started boxing. I had a good career outside of it.

“I don't need boxing for that. I'm in boxing because I like to have a fight and people who are in there against me are going to realise that when it gets tough.

“If they're getting tired and they're struggling, they're [expletive] because I'm never struggling mentally in that ring. I thrive in that ring. I love a hard fight and I love getting stuck in so whenever it gets like that, people are going to find out that that's what I'm about.”

Cameron is the third hard fight the 27-year-old from Birmingham has said ‘Yes’ to over the past six months.

Jones’ performance against Taylor earned him far more respect from boxing insiders and fans than the judges, who handed Taylor a wide unanimous decision.

Nonetheless, the loss did leave him wondering when his next opportunity would arrive. He didn’t have to wait long and leapt at the chance to fight Oleksandr Usyk’s undefeated protege, Daniel Lapin (12-0, 4 KOs).

Jones was across the Atlantic in Boston supporting his teammate, Tommy Hyde, when his trainer, Lee Beard, got the news that Lapin had withdrawn.

Although he and Beard had barely begun to put together a gameplan for Lapin, Jones had fully bought into the idea of fighting the tall, awkward Ukrainian after seeing him struggle past British and Commonwealth champion, Lewis Edmondson, in August.

The news that Liam Cameron had been drafted in as a replacement was the best news he could have hoped for.

“In regards to the British fans and the English fans, it's probably more exposure, more eyes on the fight. For people that know Cameron, they want to watch him after the Ben Whittaker fights,” Jones said.

“In regards to where I'm at and my position right now, coming off that loss I think a good statement against Cameron is probably better for my career so I was happy with the replacement.

“It's a fight for the fans. They’re going to get a good fight. You ain't got to go looking for Cameron. He's there. He don't spoil fights.”

In October 2024, Cameron appeared to be on his way to a shock victory over Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker when the two toppled over the top rope as the sixth round drew to a close. The fight was declared a technical draw and Cameron remained in the headlines until Whittaker stopped him in the second round of their rematch last April.

Cameron has spent the past 18 months chasing big names but this weekend the roles have reversed. He is the one with a target on his back and Jones is the one with everything to gain.

“Well, I want it so much that if he wants it as much as me, then he wants it a lot. I can't comment on how much he wants it and what position he is mentally in his career but I'm hungry,” he said.

“He's going to know that when I'm in there.

“I'm fit, I’m strong and I'll be there. His bully tactics that he likes to do, he's going to realise that he ain’t pushing me back in that ring and when he feels it coming back, he's going to have to change his tactics because I can outfight him and I’m going to outbox him. And that's it.”

If Jones feels that Cameron is the ideal opponent to right the ship against, Saturday’s light heavyweight-focused event also provides him with the perfect environment in which to do so.

He will be surrounded by his 175-pound peers. Some of those on the card will view him as a legitimate target while he will also have his eyes on what happens when Brad Rea defends his European title against Lyndon Arthur.

Jones knows that beating Cameron is the be-all and end-all this weekend but he is aiming to do so in a way that kicks down other doors.

“With a good performance, people are going to be calling for him against him, him against him. There's that many light heavyweights on the card that people are going to call for the fights. I'm there to answer any of them as people are going to start noticing,” he said.

“I took the Ezra fight. I took this fight. People can want one build-up fight and one easier fight. I'm not in boxing for that.

“There's that many domestic light heavyweights in England, we should all be getting it cracking. We can give the fans what they want to see and find out who's the best amongst them.

“Some might have losses and some might beat others but let's just get it cracking. I'm there for it.”