Luke Campbell gave Ryan Garcia plenty to think about when the Lightweight pair went to war in a classic battle earlier this year. After heavily dropping the popular Californian in the second session, Campbell was unable to find the necessary shot to end matters and he lived to regret that as he was stopped courtesy of a body shot in round number seven.
Campbell’s showing against Garcia earned the 2012 Olympic gold medallist widespread plaudits from the boxing community but the performance will not advance his career with Garcia now the man approaching fights with the likes of Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis.
Sporting in defeat afterwards, Campbell does wish he could've carried some ring time into the bout following a lengthy spell of inactivity due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
“It didn’t do me any justice getting in the ring with Garcia after having 16 months out the ring, and 16 months, as well, of not making Lightweight,” said Campbell when speaking to the Daily Mirror. “Obviously I’m not making any excuses, but if I’d been active and I’d fought once or twice in 2020, the ball would’ve been rolling and I certainly would’ve been building momentum into that fight.”
Despite the ideal lack of preparation, Campbell has nothing but high praise for his most recent conqueror, “He’s still very young in the sport,” said the Hull man about Garcia. “He’s very mature for his age, but he’s still very young, so he’s got a lot of time. I do believe that Ryan Garcia will go on a be a pound-for-pound fighter and one of the biggest names in the sport.”