Luke Campbell isn’t concerned about ring rust as he approaches his huge fight against Ryan Garcia on Saturday night in Dallas.
England’s Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) hasn’t boxed since Vasiliy Lomachenko thoroughly defeated him in August 2019 at O2 Arena in London. Ukraine’s Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) knocked Campbell to the canvas in the 11th round of their 12-round fight for the WBA, WBC and WBO lightweight titles and won by wide distances on all three scorecards (119-108, 119-108, 118-109).
The 33-year-old Campbell’s longest layoff between bouts before these 16 months of inactivity was seven months. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist remained in the gym for most of this year, though, and the skillful southpaw feels as though he is in peak physical condition for this 12-round fight for the WBC interim 135-pound crown.
“You know, I think everybody’s had a big layoff, so everybody’s going in there off a big layoff,” Campbell told BoxingScene.com. “I’ve actually been in two full training camps for fights that have fallen through at the last minute. So, I’ve been active, I’ve been in the gym, I’ve been sparring, I’ve been competitive, and I’ve been pushing myself in the gym. So, I’ve had a fair bit of time in the gym, training for fights that have fallen through. You know, it’s not as if I’ve been at home, sat on the sofa and not doing much.”
Campbell was supposed to fight the Dominican Republic’s Javier Fortuna (36-2-1, 25 KOs, 1 NC) for the WBC lightweight title April 17 at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, because Devin Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) was recovering from shoulder surgery and was designated the WBC’s lightweight champion in recess. The card Campbell-Fortuna was scheduled to headline was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Campbell-Garcia also was postponed four weeks, from December 5 until Saturday night, because Campbell contracted COVID-19 in November. Fortunately, Campbell felt as if he only came down with a minor cold and spent just the required 10 days of self-isolation out of the gym.
The 22-year-old Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) last fought February 14, when he knocked out Costa Rica’s Francisco Fonseca (27-3-2, 21 KOs) in the first round at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The Victorville, California, native has fought twice since Campbell lost to Lomachenko in the second world title fight of Campbell’s seven-year pro career. In the bout before he defeated Fonseca, Garcia knocked out the Philippines’ Romero Duno (22-2, 17 KOs) in the first round nearly 14 months ago at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Campbell-Garcia is the main event of a five-fight card at American Airlines Center. DAZN will stream the whole show, starting at 8 p.m. GMT and 3 p.m. EST.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.