Warrior Campbell wins battle of heavyweights
BEFORE last night there had not been a Scottish heavyweight title fight since 1951 and there will likely never be another one quite like this one ever again.
In a messy, attritional but utterly compelling contest that went on deep into the seventh round, it was Nick Campbell who left with the silverware around his waist following the toughest test of his five-fight professional career.
Campbell, a former Glasgow Warriors rugby player now based in Jersey, was taller, stronger and fitter than Jay McFarlane but try as he might he simply could not put his opponent away as the man known as the Ghost took umpteen shots to the head and body before the referee eventually decided he had seen enough and stepped in to stop it.
Campbell has aspirations to move up to compete at British level and conceded he will likely not encounter an opponent as awkward and unorthodox as McFarlane – with his lurid green hair and no-defence style – for the remainder of his fighting days.
“That was the most valuable seven rounds of my career so far, amateur or pro,” he said. “What a night, what an experience. I think I managed to win the crowd over by the end.
“I knew he was going to be tough. I hit him with some shots and he didn’t move. I thought it was going to be a long night. I just worked away, took a couple, worked on my craft and what I’d been practising.
“I’m a very reserved guy but if you want to go to war with me I’ll go to war, I’ll be in the trenches and give everything I’ve got.
“If I go through my career blasting everyone out in two or three rounds when I come against someone who’s going to hit me back I’m not going to know what to do.
“I’m the proudest Scotsman on the planet. I’m a Jersey resident but when I’m travelling to Glasgow I’m going home.”
A scrappy, lumbering fight – compared unfavourably by social media wags to two drunks brawling next to the bins behind a pub – looked like it would be over quickly with Campbell lively and McFarlane taking plenty of punishment in the early rounds, jutting out his chin to taunt Campbell to keep hitting him.
The 23 year-old, however, seemed to soak up the pounding and keep coming back for more. And, as Campbell began to tire, McFarlane started to throw a few punches of his own, landing with one big swinging right-hand shot in the sixth round.
It would prove something of a false dawn, however, as Campbell finally floored his opponent with a flush shot in the next round. And although McFarlane sprung up quickly and showed a willingness to go on, Campbell continued his barrage of punches until the referee stepped in and felt enough was enough.
There was another allCaledonian clash in the first of the televised bouts. Both Jordan Grant and John Docherty had fought the previous weekend at Trump Turnberry but the chance to get out again at the Hydro was too good to turn down.
The Kynoch Boxing stablemates were evenly matched in the first round but a body shot from the experienced Docherty heavily winded the Hamilton man and he made little attempt to beat the count.
“I was out for a year but now I’m ready to get back in with the top boys now,” said the Montrose supermiddleweight. “It was a good way to show everyone what I’d been working on. I was pleased with that performance. Probably when I look back I’ll see bits and bobs but I’ll be back in the gym next week. I know how good I can be, it’s just about getting the right fights at the right time.”
Both Scots involved in the early bouts also savoured success. Scott Forrest enjoyed an ideal start to his professional career, the cruiserweight dominating Erik Nazaryan who was forced to retire after sustaining a hand injury.
Before then Mark McKeown extended his undefeated pro record with a shut-out points win over Engel Lopez to open the evening. The Coatbridge featherweight knocked down his opponent in the first round on his way to moving to 6-0.