WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney has predicted that former amateur rival Ryan Garcia will beat London 2012 gold medalist Luke Campbell in their expected showdown for the WBC interim title.
In a muddled WBC title picture, Luke Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) was originally set to face Javier Fortuna for the ‘full’ WBC crown before 21-year-old Haney was reinstated as champion after making a successful recovery from surgery.
Campbell has now been ordered to face Californian dynamo Ryan Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) for the organisation’s interim title and the right to face Haney.
“The Garcia-Campbell winner has to fight me regardless,” Haney told FightHype. “Let’s say Ryan wins and he doesn’t fight me, all the credit he got [beating Campbell] will go out the window because he doesn’t want to fight the champion now.
“I hope the winner stays here and fights the champion. It’ll make for a big fight and a good fight. I think Ryan should win. You’ve got to believe, Luke Campbell is coming off of a loss, too [to WBC ‘franchise’ champion Vasiliy Lomachenko].
“People forget that and try to hide that. He’s still coming off of a loss. I think he’s a good fighter and talented, but Ryan has the momentum right now if he looks like he’s ready, and it’s possible.
“But Luke Campbell has that boxing ability, that ring generalship, and that experience. It’ll make for a good fight. You can’t count Luke out, and you can’t count Ryan out. I think it’s a good fight. But if Ryan wins easily, I wouldn’t be surprised.”