‘It was my best performance’
Luke Campbell has sent a message to the lightweight division that his career-best performance is just the start of what is to come. Campbell’s display in beating Yvan Mendy on points at Wembley Stadium was a statement in itself, with the lightweight star giving a majestic display in precision boxing to totally dominate a stubborn and robust opponent.
Claiming a unanimous decision on all three judges’ scorecards, Campbell gained revenge for his first career defeat but, more importantly, installed himself as the mandatory challenger to Mickey Garcia’s WBC world title having won this final eliminator between the boxers ranked one and two by the WBC.
If the performance, which was watched ringside by another lightweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko, wasn’t a big enough statement then Campbell was making sure the message was clear enough in the wake of his most impressive victory.
“That was my best performance. It was certainly my most mature performance against someone who is a handful. It was the best performance of my career, but trust me, this is just the start of what’s to come,” Campbell told the Mail.
“This fight wasn’t about revenge and getting one up on someone. It was a fight to get me closer to where I want to be.
“He was the number one with the WBC and has been unbeaten since he boxed me and nobody out there wants to fight him because he’s tough and strong and keeps coming forward, nobody wants to fight him. I had fun with him.
“I’’ve had just one camp with Shane and I feel like I’ve come on again. This is just the start of things and I’m excited about what is to come.”
A first camp with new trainer Shane Mcguigan hasn’t seen a reinvention of Campbell, all the familiar signs were there.
The difference being all the things Campbell does well, he did even better in a clinical display of boxing on the back foot, drawing in an opponent and dominating with the cleaner work when in range.
The nature of the victory as much as the one-sided scoreline against an opponent who may not be a household name but is a justifiable contender, will offer confidence to Campbell ahead of a world title shot that is now likely to come next year.
The 30-year-old is hopeful of getting back out before the end of the year, but a shot at the WBC crown is unlikely to come until 2019, with Campbell eyeing a contest in America as part of his promotion stable Matchroom Sport’s partnership with new US streaming service DAZN.
With a world title fight likely to be held in America, like his previous world tilt against Jorge Linares last year, Campbell is hopeful of travelling to the States to further his presence there and build on what he feels is the new momentum behind his career.
“I’m excited about what’s next. I’ll take a couple of weeks out and relax and then the plan is to get another fight in December before the end of the year,” added Campbell.
“I want to build on this momentum and fighting in America is an option we’re looking at. This is the start of a new journey and there is a hell of a lot more to come from me.”