By Scott Gilfoid: #11 WBC lightweight contender Luke Campbell (13-1, 11 KOs) will be fighting next month against 29-year-old former IBF super featherweight champion Argenis Mendez (23-4-1, 12 KOs) in a scheduled 12 round fight on July 30 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.
The Campbell-Mendez fight will be taking place on the Josh Warrington vs. Patrick Hyland fight card. Heavyweight Dillian Whyte is also on the card fighting an opponent still to be determined. There is also former welterweight title challenger Frankie Gavin fighting TBA.
This will the 28-year-old Campebll’s second fight since losing to Yvan Mendy by a 12 round split decision last year in December. Campbell was supposed to win that fight, but Mendy kept nailing him round after round with big right hands to the head.
Having seen that fight, I didn’t agree with the silly scoring of it being called a split decision. I had Mendy winning eight rounds to four. I don’t know what fight the judge was watching that scored it for Campbell 15-113. That was just very weird scoring. Did he get mixed up and think Campbell was Mendy? Never the less, the good news is the other two judges got the decision right in giving it to Mendy. It would have been sad if Campbell was given a victory in that fight. I mean, it wouldn’t have helped him because his defensive issues would still be there when he eventually stepped up to fight a talent like Dejab Zlaticanin or Jorge Linares.
Since getting whipped by Mendy last December, Campbell has fought once in beating domestic level fighter Gary Sykes by a 2nd round knockout last March on the undercard of the Kell Brook vs. Kevin Bizier welterweight title clash at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, UK. The Sykes fight was a confidence booster for the 5’9” Campbell, and it was never intended to be a competitive fight. Before that fight, Sykes had recently been whitewashed by Liam Walsh in losing a lopsided 12 round decision.
Campbell captured a gold medal for Britain in the 2012 London Olympics. Winning gold medals in the Olympics mean nothing though when you are in the pro ranks, because they do not mess around with hitting with the white portion of the gloves bit. This is real old school boxing, and Campbell still needs to adjust because he’s still fighting like an amateur in my view. Instead of focusing on hitting with the white portion of the gloves, Campbell needs to start sitting down on his shots and throwing his punches with some force. He’s not going to win fights by tapping his opponents and expecting to win rounds.
The 29-year-old Mendez could potentially be another Waterloo for Campbell, because Mendez is a decent fighter. He recently defeated former world champion Miguel Vazquez last year. Mendez did lose his last fight against lightweight contender Robert Easter Jr. (17-0, 14 KOs), but we are talking about a very, very good fighter in Easter Jr. It’s not surprising that Mendez lost to that guy because he’s a major talent. Anyone would lose to Easter Jr. right now, so it’s not surprising that Mendez got beaten by that guy. It’s hard to pick a winner for the Campbell-Mendez fight because both guys are so flawed. Mendez has respectable power. He has knockout wins over guys like Daniel Evangelista Jr. and Alex Perez. Mendez is more of a pot shot fighter than a true knockout artist, but he’s capable of knocking out Campbell on July 30 if he gets sloppy while going for a knockout of his own.
Campbell had used to being the taller guy and dominating size since turning pro in 2013. When he finally fought a guy that could punch him back in Mendy, he kind of came unglued at the seams. Campbell was nailed to the head repeatedly by Mendy and he did not seem to take it well.
Mendez is the same type of fighter as Mendy. He’s not a world champion level fighter at lightweight, but he is a solid fighter that will hit you back. I don’t think Campbell will handle this fight well if he can’t get Mendez out of there quickly. If Mendez hangs around for any length of time, he’s going to expose Campbell again like Mendy did and make him look bad.
In the high point of his career, Mendez stopped Juan Carlos Salgado by a 4th round knockout to win the vacant IBF super featherweight title five years ago in September 2011, Mendez successfully defended his IBF 130lb title three times before losing it to Rances Barthlemy by a 12 round unanimous decision two years ago in July 2014.
I don’t know what the end game is for Campbell. His promoter Eddie Hearn seems to be pushing him towards the water falls by steering him towards fight against WBC champion Zlaticanin. I think that’s stupid because Zlaticanin will likely destroy Campbell. I think Hearn would be better to push Campbell towards facing WBA champion Anthony Crolla, because he seems to be the weak link among the current lightweight champions right now. The talented guys are Zlaticanin, Terry Flanagan and Rances Barthelemy. I think Campbell beats Crolla right now with his size, southpaw stance and power. Of course, if Hearn makes that fight, he would lose one of his revenue streams with Crolla losing. I mean, Hearn would open up a new one with Campbell, but he would likely be closing the door permanently on the Crolla revenue stream, because I can’t see him winning another world title.
Hearn can get Crolla another world title shot, I’m sure, but I think he would get smashed if he fights Flanagan, Zlaticanin or Barthelemy. As such, I think Hearn is going to keep Campbell away from Crolla, because he brings in a mess of fans at the Manchester Arena each time he fights. Crolla is popular, but probably only the third best lightweight in the UK right now. I think Campbell would make Crolla look bad if that fight were to happen. It’s one of those thing where styles make fights. Campbell is too big and powerful for a tiny guy like Crolla.