FATHER CHRISTMAS Luke Campbell has cancelled his big day to secure a ‘fistive’ end to a miserable 2020.
Hull’s 2012 Olympic hero lost most of the year waiting for a third lightweight world title crack, only for the pandemic to ruin his April bid for the WBC crown.
Luke Campbell will face Ryan Garcia on January 2
Luke Campbell has had to leave his family behind ahead of his showdown with Ryan GarciaCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
But Campbell, 33, saved his season with a high-profile shot at new Mexican-American golden boy Ryan Garcia — for the interim belt — on January 2.
The bad news is the dedicated daddy of schoolboys Leo and Lincoln — and three-month-old baby son Levi — has to jet out to Dallas in the next 72 hours, ending his hopes of a dream Christmas day.
He told SunSport: “It is hard. But I have to keep reminding myself that what I am doing is all for my family.
“I want to be a world champion for me, I have to be selfish in how I live my life.
“But the extras that come with being a world champion are for my family, so they will be secure and free to find much easier jobs than being punched in the face for a living!
“I have been away in camp for so many months now, it was only during the first lockdown where I got some time at home, so at least now I know the light is coming at the end of the tunnel.”
Campbell’s first world title failure took place in California in 2017, where he felt Jorge Linares got generous decisions from the two American judges, who outnumbered the Brit official who had Campbell winning.
This time, back in the US against their latest 22-year-old sensation, Campbell knows — like Callum Smith last night against Canelo Alvarez in Texas — that the odds are stacked against him.
Campbell said: “I try not to think about whether I need a knockout or stoppage. But I would be kidding myself if I did not think it has to be convincing.
“All I can do is try to keep it out of the judges’ hands.”
Garcia is 20-0, but Campbell added: “I will find him out. Unless he really is this unbelievable talent and has been dedicated for his whole life — like I have — I will be coming back with a win and I will go on to become world champion.”
Luke Campbell clash with Ryan Garcia to launch DAZN UK on December 19
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
