Vasyl Lomachenko (13-1, 10 KO’s) has the opportunity to add the vacant WBC lightweight title to his collection when he faces Luke Campbell (20-2, 16 KO’s) at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night.
Like his Ukrainian counterpart, the Hull native captured Olympic gold at the 2012 London games and amassed an impressive record of fifteen wins with twelve knockouts, before suffering his first career defeat at the hands of Yvan Mendy in December 2015.
Campbell was dropped once by the rugged Frenchman and out-hustled throughout, ultimately losing a split-decision in what constituted a minor upset.
In between avenging his loss to Mendy via unanimous decision in September 2018, Campbell – a year earlier – nearly pushed Venezuelan Jorge Linares all the way in a closely-contested encounter for the WBA lightweight title that was determined by the narrowest of margins: a flash knockdown Linares scored in the second round.
Despite coming up short in his first bid for world championship glory, Campbell at that point proved his quality and the fight itself signalled Cool Hand‘s transition from promising contender to seasoned professional.
Meanwhile, Lomachenko – a decorated amateur who was reputedly only bested once in an unpaid career spanning nearly 400 fights – has already made history as a professional, becoming a three-weight world champion in just a handful of fights.
An audacious venture to become a world champion in his second fight against Orlando Salido was thwarted by negligent refereeing in addition to equally questionable scorecards. Nevertheless, the loss in 2013 provided the pound-for-pound superstar with valuable experience and he has won virtually every fight since in thoroughly convincing fashion against opponents such as Guillermo Rigondeaux, Jose Pedraza, Roman Martinez, Nicholas Walters, Jason Sosa and Miguel Marriaga.
Lomachenko’s lightweight debut – challenging Jorge Linares for the WBA lightweight title at Madison Square Garden – was an utterly captivating affair where both fighters exchanged punches with scintillating speed and accuracy before Lomachenko landed the decisive shot in the tenth round to end the fight. The Akkerman-native also displayed his ability to withstand adversity against a bigger and stronger opponent, after being floored in the sixth round and sustaining a shoulder injury that significantly hindered his output and necessitated a layoff of several months.
After outpointing tricky Puerto-Rican switch-hitter Jose Pedraza to unify the WBA and WBO lightweight titles, Lomachenko effortlessly dispatched of former titlist Anthony Crolla inside four rounds at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
The Ukrainian southpaw has ostensibly set his sights on becoming undisputed lightweight champion as Top Rank stablemate Richard Commey is the holder of the sole remaining IBF championship in the division.
Firstly, however, Lomachenko must attend to immediate business against Luke Campbell. Expect the Briton to attempt capitalising on his physical advantages to frustrate Lomachenko in the early stages, before the Ukrainian gets into gear and begins bamboozling Campbell with his movement and combinations; consummating his dominance with a mid-to-late round stoppage.
Preview by: Navi Singh
Follow Navi on Twitter at: @DarkMan________