Luke Campbell vs. Derry Mathews on October 15

By Boxing News - 08/24/2016 - Comments

Image: Luke Campbell vs. Derry Mathews on October 15

By Scott Gilfoid: #5 WBC lightweight contender Luke Campbell (14-1, 11 KOs) will be fighting former world title challenger Derry Mathews (38-10-2, 20 KOs) on October 15 in a scheduled 12 round bout on the undercard of the cruiserweight match-up between WBO champion Tony Bellew and BJ Flores at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, UK.

It’s a decent fight between fringe level lightweights. Neither of these guys will likely ever win a world title at lightweight unless it’s an ideal situation where they’re facing a vulnerable champion like Anthony Crolla. The winner of the Campbell vs. Mathews fight wont really prove anything though. If you feed either of these guys to Mikey Garcia, it’s going to be a real massacre in my view. Campbell-Mathews is more of a domestic level fight than anything.

Mathews, 32, has a very good chance of beating Campbell if he puts the pressure on him and keeps it on him. Campbell’s chin is suspect, and he doesn’t react well to getting hit at the pro level.

Campbell, 28, turned pro with high expectations after winning a gold medal for Britain in the 2012 Olympics, but he was quickly exposed by Yvan Mendy in losing a 12 round decision to him last year in December. Campbell has since won his last two fights against Gary Sykes and Argenis Mendez. Campnbell was knocked down by Mendez in the 2nd round. He came back to win the fight, but only because Mendez stopped throwing punches after knocking him down.

That performance showed a lot of boxing fans that Campbell doesn’t have world champion talent. Campbell is a great example of how different the amateur level is from the pros. Fighter that do well at the amateur level frequently come up short in the pro ranks, because it’s totally different sport. Campbell would probably still be a very good amateur fighter if he went back to the amateur ranks, as a pro, he’s lacking big time.

“This is exactly the kind of fight I have been looking for, and doing it in his backyard is even more exciting,” said Campbell via ESPN.com. “I feel like I am starting to reach the peak of my professional career and Derry has some great wins on his record. I’m expecting it to be my toughest fight yet. This fight will engage the British public and that’s what I want, to entertain the fans and give them the big domestic title fights that can be made.”

I think Campbell reached his peak in the Olympics. He’s not doing much at the pro level thus far other than beating some vulnerable fighters. Campbell’s recent fight against Mendez showed how vulnerable he is.

Mendez pretty much just stood around most of the fight using the shoulder roll defense made famous by Floyd Mayweather Jr. However, when Mendez did let his hands go in the 2nd, he had Campbell on the canvas and looking ready to be knocked out. You can extrapolate from there to imagine what would happen if Campbell Mikey Garcia, and it wouldn’t be a pretty picture for Campbell.

For Campbell, if he can win this fight, it would be his third win in a row. It wouldn’t prove much other than that he can beat an aging 32-year-old Mathew, who was beaten in his last fight by WBO lightweight champion Terry Flanagan.

Mathews looked decent in losing to Flanagan by a 12 round unanimous decision last March by the scores 115-112, 117-110 and 117-110. Mathews gave Flanagan some problems in that fight, but he clearly lost the fight. Flanagan pulled away in the last four rounds to cement his win.

“I don’t back out of fights, especially in my home city,” Mathews said via ESPN.com. “It’s a great fight for me and one I can’t wait for. I’ll take anyone on, and it’s an opportunity to fight in my home city against a world-class fighter. I think this has come too early for him. When I win this fight it’s going to open doors for bigger and better things.

The lightweight scene is thriving at the moment and there’s plenty of life in this old dog, believe me.

Mathews will make it a fight with Campbell, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he beats him. Campbell doesn’t seem to be made for brawling. He seems to be more cut out for boxing in a slow methodical manner. Campbell is one of those fighters that likes to pot shot from the outside. If you pressure him, he doesn’t look nearly as good.