Boxing: World title fight a win away for Cameron

Shane Cameron says his flattening of Monte Barrett on Thursday night shows how fickle the sport can be. Photo / Greg Bowker

Shane Cameron could be one punch away from a shot at the world heavyweight championship.

Duco's David Higgins, the co-promoter of Thursday night's Cameron versus Monte Barrett bout, believes the Kiwi slugger's spectacular knockout victory could well pave the way to a WBO title elimination fight.

Having defeated David Tua last August, Barrett was ranked 12 by the WBO heading into Thursday's bout. When the organisation's next set of rankings is released, Cameron's victory is likely to see him promoted inside the top 10. That positioning would enable him to negotiate a fight with a genuine title contender. In the "money talks" world of professional boxing, such a fight would happen provided the Cameron camp could stump up the purse or find a promoter willing to do so.

If the fight were against a number one or two contender - Russian Denis Boytsov and American Seth Mitchell currently occupy those spots - the WBO would almost certainly make the bout a title eliminator, setting up the winner to take on Wladimir Klitschko.

"He's one punch away from a shot at Klitschko, I really believe that," Higgins said. "Cameron is the hottest heavyweight in New Zealand right now. Shane's had a lot of bad luck. It was about time he had some good luck. And it wasn't just luck, he did it in style."

Cameron will certainly have options. Thursday's fight was billed as an eliminator for a bout with NZPBA champion Sonny Bill Williams, while a rematch against David Tua would also be a lucrative possibility. Those fights, however, would do little to increase Cameron's standing on the world stage.

"Shane needs to decide if he wants a money fight against the likes of David Tua or wants to have a crack at the world title," Higgins said.

Cameron also needed to decide if he was willing to "degrade himself" by getting in the ring with Williams, Higgins said.

Cameron's manager Ken Reinsfield said the idea the Barrett fight was a precursor to a date with Williams was a PR stunt cooked up by Duco.

"Sonny Bill would watch that fight and have a heart attack," Reinsfield said. "So would the New Zealand Rugby Union. You've got to be kidding me. There's no chance. But as [Cameron's] manager I say, 'Hell yes, we'll fight Sonny Bill.'

"Shane doesn't particularly want to fight him but I'd say, 'Shane, half of New Zealand will pay to watch this, half of New Zealand will pay to watch you knock him out."'

Whether Reinsfield is prepared to continue the uneasy alliance with Duco remains to be seen. Reinsfield's preference has been to promote Cameron's fights himself - a route that can be more lucrative for both manager and fighter. However, Duco has an impressive track record of running boxing promotions and has the funds to bankroll a title elimination fight.

While Thursday's display did not erase the pain of losing to Tua in 2009, it did at least demonstrate how fickle the sport could be, Cameron said.

"Look what David [Tua] did to me in that first round with that one punch. He didn't put me to sleep but I couldn't recover. What one punch did to Barrett - he was asleep, he doesn't know where he is. That just shows you how brutal the sport can be. It's not a nice place to be."

Cameron did not rule out targeting either Klitschko.

"It's a hard fight against the Klitschkos [Wladimir and Vitali], but again it's an opportunity," he said. "A lot of people wrote me off, they didn't think I was going to win but I won in great fashion."