Campbell vs Radley: One must fall
The payday’s great, but this is about proving my worth and a longer-term contract with Golden Gloves
● Rowan Campbell has had three tough fights this year, but his 2019 finale at Emperors Palace on Saturday could be the hardest.
Campbell, the SA super-middleweight champion, takes on national light-heavyweight king Nicholas Radley in an intriguing catchweight clash over 10 rounds.
Both fighters are unbeaten, both have power and both enjoyed convincing wins in their last outings.
Campbell, 26, demolished previously indestructible Patrick Mukala, and lanky Radley, 34, used his jab to bust up Frank “The Tank” Rodrigues.
Campbell, with 11 wins under his belt, is looking to shine.
“It’s been a tough year for me, but I want to finish the year off amazingly,” he said, adding he’d like to win inside the distance. “I believe my fighting style will work perfectly against Nicholas Radley.”
Cape Town-based Radley, who at 1.95m is 15cm taller than Campbell, is thinking the same in reverse.
“He’s an attacking fighter and that suits me,” said the former kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter.
Radley’s looking beyond the cheque.
“The payday’s great, but this is about proving my worth and setting up a longerterm contract with [promoter] Golden Gloves.”
Radley left his two kids and wife in Cape Town more than two weeks ago to get acclimatised to the thin Highveld air.
Campbell’s scalp has increased in value this year, and so too has his confidence — he says he’d face veteran Ryno Liebenberg if the money was right.
But he must first get past Radley.
The undercard features a junior-middleweight shootout with stable mates Roarke Knapp and Boyd Allen facing Brandon Thysse and Tristan Truter respectively. The winners and losers are scheduled to fight each other next year.
Broadcast on SS8 from 7pm.