Luke Campbell is Convinced He Will Defeat Vasyl Lomachenko

Even though he is far from being the favorite, various factors lean towards the British Luke Campbell in his next bout against the Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko: the height, the reach, and the public. There are those who may have instilled excessive optimism in Campbell, giving him the confidence to declare that he will reign victorious over “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko, double world lightweight champion and currently considered the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Regardless, the task will prove to be extremely daunting for the Briton.

In the upcoming match scheduled for August 31^stat the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London, the Ukrainian who resides in Oxford, California, will defend his WBO World Lightweight and WBA Super World Lightweight Titles whilst also having the incentive to claim the vacant WBC World Lightweight Title.

Adding to his confidence that he will be triumphant, “Cool Hand” Campbell (20-2-0, 16 KOs) states that he has improved his technique, tactics and physical condition ever since joining his trainer Shane McGuigan. And now, after training in Miami for a long time with Cuban Jorge Rubio, he is close to his wife and two children, providing him with the mental stability of being able to frequently spend time with them.

Campbell recently told online British newspaper The Independent, “I’ve always thought from turning pro about the possibility of a fight between us both and here it is. I’ve always thought about it and I’ve got it. He’s ranked No.1 pound-for-pound for a reason. I think he’s the very best out there at the minute but that’s exactly where I want to be. Everybody on the outside would see it as a massive upset but for us on the inside, who know what we have gone through, it wouldn’t be an upset to us.”

A southpaw, similar to his opponent and also 31 years of age, Campbell and Lomachenko add their names to the list of Olympic champions from London-2012. The Briton won the gold medal in the 56kg category and the Ukrainian in the 60kg.

“We actually shared a changing room in 2008 in the European Championships in Liverpool for the semifinals or final. I wasn’t really worried about anyone else at the time, so I didn’t really pay him too much attention. I wasn’t there to focus on anyone else except my opponent at the time,” said Campbell. “I have always said the Olympics was a great grounding for me, to have that pressure on top of me, the whole nation watching you in my own country. As a young lad that was everything to me and if I didn’t win that gold medal, I’m not sure I would be where I am at the moment.”

Campbell adds three consecutive victories, the most recent against the Mexican Adrian “Chinito” Young in March, after suffering the second defeat in his career against the Venezuelan Jorge “El Niño de Oro” Linares on September 23^rd of 2017, at the Forum in Inglewood, California. The South American retained the WBA World Lightweight title and the WBC Diamond Lightweight title.

Although he maintained a high paced style, constantly attacking and forcing Linares to give it his all, Campbell suffered a knockdown in the second round from a right hand to the chin, which practically decided the fight. The American judges Zachary Young (115-112) and Max DeLuca (114-113) leaned towards Linares, meanwhile the British Victor Loughlin (115-113) gave his verdict in favor of Campbell. “He was a more difficult opponent than I expected, he’s an Olympic champion for a reason,” affirmed Linares after the fight.

“I’m not the same fighter as I was two or three years ago,” said Campbell. “Since I’ve been with Shane, my career has gone from strength to strength. Before, my career was a little bit all over the place. I didn’t have the right team around me, but now I’ve got that.”

Born in the city of Hull, in the county of Yorkshire, Campbell left the journalists perplexed when he assured them with complete seriousness that he had not seen a single one of Lomachenko’s fights and had only observed some of the highlights. “I let Shane be in charge of analyzing my opponents and he devises the game plan, he tells me what to do once I get in the ring.”

When referring to his upcoming duel against Lomachenko, the British southpaw expressed that it’s just another fight, in some ways undermining the exceptional virtues of the double Olympic champion in his amateur career as well as professional titles in the featherweight, junior featherweight and lightweight divisions.

LOMACHENKO WANTS THE FOUR LIGHTWEIGHT TITLES

With a brilliant style of impeccable footwork and hand speed, Lomachenko (13-1-0, 10 KOs) is coming off of a 4^th round knock out against the British Anthony “Million Dollar” Crolla on the 12th of April at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, where he added his ninth knockout of the last ten fights. In those dozen bouts only the Puerto Rican Jose “Sniper” Pedraza was able to escape the power of his punches, but he lost decisively by unanimous decision, having been knocked down twice in the 11^th round. This victory allowed Lomachenko to unify his WBA title with the WBO title held by Pedraza.

“My goal is to conquer the four lightweight titles and then retire,” wrote Lomachenko recently on his Instagram, where he maintains constant communication with his followers. “Why should I keep fighting when I become the undisputed champion of the division? When I accomplish this I will be ready to retire at the age of 33. I’ve been boxing since 5 years old and everything has its end.”

If the Ukrainian champion achieves his goal, he would be at the top of the world and with this would come numerous lucrative fights.  It is also important to recognize the fact that he has sustained very little damage throughout both his amateur and professional careers.

Translated by E.G. for J.J. Alvarez of Boxeo.tv

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