8/31 ESPN+: Vasyl Lomachenko vs Luke Campbell (vacant WBC/WBA/WBO Lightweight Titles)

[patscorpio]

London called. Loma answered.

WBA/WBO lightweight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, the pound-for-pound Picasso and two-time Olympic gold medalist, will defend his belts Saturday, Aug. 31, against fellow Olympic gold medalist “Cool Hand” Luke Campbell, the pride of Hull, England, at The O2 in London.

The vacant WBC world lightweight title will also be up for grabs in this battle of 2012 London Olympic gold medalists.

Lomachenko-Campbell will headline a special afternoon edition of Top Rank on ESPN on ESPN+ — the industry-leading sports streaming service — beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. The entire undercard will stream on ESPN+ starting at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

This will mark Lomachenko’s first ring appearance in London since the 2013 World Series of Boxing when he shut out Sam Maxwell over five rounds.

“Vasiliy Lomachenko is a unique talent who is going to take the United Kingdom by storm,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Luke Campbell is an excellent fighter, but Lomachenko is in a class of his own. The fans on that side of the pond have wanted Lomachenko to return ever since he turned pro. It’s going to be a crazy, sold-out crowd at the O2 Arena, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Lomachenko has the crowd’s support.”

“This is a fight for history because my goal is to unify all of the belts in the lightweight division,” Lomachenko said. “Luke Campbell is the next challenge for me on that journey. He is an excellent fighter who I remember well from the 2012 Olympics. He has a difficult style, and I cannot afford to overlook him.

“It is very special for me to fight in London. I visited last year, and the response from the people was overwhelming. They respect my fighting style and are passionate about boxing. I can’t wait to put on a great show for everyone.”

“I am thrilled to see Vasiliy Lomachenko head to the UK to meet British star Luke Campbell,” said Eddie Hearn, Managing Director of Matchroom Sport. “Loma is simply one of the finest boxers to ever lace them up, the best fighter on the planet today and I’m honored to be promoting his first ever pro fight in the UK. But Luke is an elite world fighter, too, and with his range, ability and heart, the Hull ace can shock the world and rip Loma’s titles from him on another epic night of boxing in the capital.”

“The best fighting the best, this is going to make one hell of a fight,” Campbell said. “I am in this sport to be the best and I am this sport to become a world champion. This is what I train and work so hard for, to become a world champion and fulfill my potential.

“He is ranked number one pound-for-pound on the planet so for me to fight a guy like that only encourages me more to be the best that I can be and it is exactly the level that I want to be at. I’m well aware of how good he is and what he is capable of doing but I’m also well aware of what I can do and what I’m going to do.

“I think that I can knock out anyone that I hit right, I believe that I am one of the biggest punchers in the lightweight division. This is going to be the toughest fight of my life and I’m preparing for it, physically and mentally. This is Luke Campbell’s year, it’s my time.”

Lomachenko (13-1, 10 KOs), who went 396-1 as an amateur, has won world titles at featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight in the paid ranks. He fought for a world title in his second pro bout and won the WBO featherweight world title in his third outing, dominating Gary Russell Jr. over 12 rounds. He made his lightweight debut last May, tearing the labrum in his right shoulder in the second round and rising from a sixth-round knockdown to knock out WBA champion Jorge Linares in the 10th.

Lomachenko added the WBO lightweight title to his collection in December, scoring a pair of knockdowns in the 11th round and ultimately winning a unanimous decision over two-weight world champion Jose Pedraza. He last fought in April at Staples Center in Los Angeles, disposing of mandatory challenger Anthony Crolla in four rounds.

Campbell (20-2, 16 KOs), the WBC No. 1 lightweight contender, captured Olympic gold as a bantamweight at the 2012 London Olympics, one of only two male boxers (along with Anthony Joshua) to win gold in front of the home fans. Lomachenko won gold as a lightweight in London, and a little more than seven years later, their paths will cross once again.

Campbell lost to Yvan Mendy via split decision in his 13th pro bout in December 2015, a defeat that was avenged nearly three years later in convincing fashion. Campbell challenged Jorge Linares for the WBA lightweight title in September 2017 in Los Angeles, dropping a highly contested split decision. He has won three in a row since that disappointment — including the Mendy rematch — most recently knocking out Adrian Yung in five rounds in Philadelphia.

​

 

[desjardins]

So this is not a ppv but on espn+?
That means I pay the 5.99 for the month and just stream it?
Kinda confused how espn+ works, assumed it was like dazn but I’m seeing that Crawford vs Khan was $70 PLUS the espn+ fee

 

[patscorpio]

So this is not a ppv but on espn+?
That means I pay the 5.99 for the month and just stream it?
Kinda confused how espn+ works, assumed it was like dazn but I’m seeing that Crawford vs Khan was $70 PLUS the espn+ fee

What? No it's only 4.99 a month...its not a ppv...well not in the US lol. If you pay for the month, might as well do it for kovalev vs yarde and start it from there

 

[desjardins]

What? No it's only 4.99 a month...its not a ppv...well not in the US lol. If you pay for the month, might as well do it for kovalev vs yarde and start it from there

Gotcha. I guess that’s not bad value

 

[patscorpio]

Gotcha. I guess that’s not bad value

nah its not but on the boxing side espn+ hasnt been delivering it this year..espn really needs to decide clearly what cards go on here and what cards go on regular espn..and with this espn+ serviceno one should have to pay an additional PPV price...shyt's stupid..i keep it though because it is convenient when i need it plus it doesnt break my pockets at all

 

[patscorpio]

Campbell: If I Hit Loma Clean, I Can Hurt Him and Get Him Out

Lightweight contender Luke Campbell will aim to use his physical gifts and boxing ability to inflict damage on Vasiliy Lomachenko.

They will collide on August 31 at the O2 Arena in London, where the WBC, WBA, WBO world titles will be on the line.

Lomachenko, a two division Olympic gold medal winner and a three division champion, is a very big favorite to win the fight.

Campbell's trainer, Shane McGuigan, explains that his boxer will not apply a strategy similar to Orlando Salido, who handed Lomachenko the sole defeat of his pro career.

He says his boxer will need to win as many rounds as possible, win them big, and use a lot of power to rattle Lomachenko.

"[Campbell] is not going to do what Salido did - march him down and use his weight and size because Luke doesn't have that weight and size," his trainer McGuigan said to Sky Sports.

"Luke is not a come-forward pressure fighter. We have to take it out of the judges' hands. When we win rounds we have to win them with a big margin. We have to dent him with power, and Luke definitely has the power to dent him. Jorge Linares put [Lomachenko] on his backside. Although it was a flash knock-down, he still stunned him. [Lomachenko] has been hurt once or twice. Salido hurt him throughout the fight and a few people caused him [problems].

"This guy isn't unbeatable and if there's one person, boxing-wise, with the ability to match him it is Luke Campbell the Olympic gold medallist. We've got as many assets as anyone [Lomachenko] has faced. How do you negate his speed, ability and technical prowess? We have the size advantage, the power advantage. No, we're not as quick or agile but we can take that away with range and timing. I am fully confident we have the ability to beat him and even knock him out."

Campbell feels very confident that he's got the power to not only hurt Lomachenko, but put him away inside the distance.

"You can't [prepare for his style] but we have quality in-house sparring with Josh Taylor, a world champion and a quality operator in the weight above," Campbell said.

"If I hit him clean, I believe I can certainly hurt him and get him out."

 

[patscorpio]

4-Day Weights: Lomachenko 137.1, Campbell 141.7

By Jake Donovan

Two weeks ahead of his first pro fight in London, Vasiliy Lomachenko is literally ready to fight tomorrow.

The three-division titlist and pound-for-pound entrant was well within the 14-day weight threshold as imposed by the World Boxing Council (WBC), one of the three belts at stake for his Aug. 31 showdown with Luke Campbell at a sold out O2 Arena in London, England.

In fact, at 137.1 pounds, the Ukrainian was actually closer to the official lightweight limit than the 5% overage he and Campbell are permitted two weeks ahead of fight night.

Campbell officially checked in at 141.7 pounds, just within the 142-pound safety check limit, or 5% above the 135-pound contracted fight limit.

Both weights were provided to BoxingScene.com courtesy of Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC.

Lomachenko (13-1, 10KO) shed just over seven pounds since the 144.5-pound reported weight at the 30-day mark, where both participants were required to be within 10% of the contracted limit or 149 pounds. Campbell (20-2, 13KOs) has dropped just shy of six pounds after weighing 147.4 pounds at the same weight check.

The pairing pits a pair of 2012 Olympic Gold medalists, with those games taking place in London. Ukraine’s Lomachenko—a two-time Olympic Gold medal winner and the Val Barker Trophy winner as the most outstanding boxer of the 2008 Beijing Olympics— fought just once in town since then, coming in 2013 during his tour in the World Series of Boxing.

Since then has come an historic pro run, fighting for a major featherweight title in just his second pro fight—a narrow points loss to an overweight Orlando Salido—and winning the strap in his third bout. Lomachenko has since captured titles in two more weight divisions, including his off-the-canvas knockout of Jorge Linares last May to claim a lightweight title.

The win placed Lomachenko in the record books as quickest three-division titlist in boxing history, doing so in just 12 pro fights. The feat has since been matched by the excellent Kosei Tanaka, who did so just four months later in winning a flyweight title which he defends for the second time this weekend in Japan.

Whereas Tanaka has claimed one belt each at strawweight, junior flyweight and flyweight, Lomachenko looks to pick up his fifth major belt as a pro. He became a unified titlist for the first time in his career with a 12-round win over Jose Pedraza last December, defending both titles in a four-round drubbing of England’s Anthony Crolla this past April.

Campbell makes his second attempt at a major title, coming up short in his own bid versus Linares who made his final successful title defense in their Sept. 2017 battle in California. Three wins have followed for Campbell, including a 12-round win over Yvan Mendy last September to become the WBC mandatory challenger.

The victory was doubly satisfying as it avenged the first defeat of his career, dropping a disputed decision in Dec. 2015. While waiting out his mandatory title shot, Campbell has since taken on a stay busy bout, stopping Adrian Yung in five rounds this past March.

The final safety weight check will come Aug. 23, where they must be within 3% of the lightweight max or 139 pounds.

 

[R=G]

 

[patscorpio]

 

[patscorpio]

 

[Liu Kang]

Is this my man Batum ? What got to him ?

 

[Bigblackted4]

So who we got between Fury and Povetkin I know Povetkin looks old but he can still catch big Fury in an exchange and sleep
Him like he did David Price. I don’t think we’ve seen Fury face a puncher on that level and Pulev was pushing his head back with a powerful up jab.

 

[patscorpio]

So who we got between Fury and Povetkin I know Povetkin looks old but he can still catch big Fury in an exchange and sleep
Him like he did David Price. I don’t think we’ve seen Fury face a puncher on that level and Pulev was pushing his head back with a powerful up jab.

im hoping povetkin scores a highlight reel ko on this struggle filled fury

 

[Bigblackted4]

im hoping povetkin scores a highlight reel ko on this struggle filled fury

Same, Fury looked awful vs Sam Peter

 

[Dallas' 4 Eva]

What time does this start central time?