Pound-for-pound star Vasyl Lomachenko to face Luke Campbell in London

On August 31 at the O2 arena, pound-for-pound number one Vasiliy Lomachenko will lock horns with fellow Olympic gold medallist Luke Campbell for the WBC, WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine Lightweight World titles.

Lomachenko (13-1) is widely considered the best boxer in the world and all but appears to be inducted into the boxing hall of fame when he eventually retires. The Ukrainian recorded a sensational 396-1 record as an amateur including winning gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. In the professional ranks he has won world titles at Featherweight, Super-Featherweight and Lightweight.

His last fight in April saw him take out another Brit in Anthony Crolla, dismantling the mandatory challenger in four rounds. However, he will now head over for a fight in the UK for the first time since winning gold in London seven years ago. Despite being the favourite, ‘Loma’ is wary of the threat Campbell poses:

“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.”

Campbell (20-2) also won gold at London in a higher weight division and is confident he can mix it with the calibre of Vasiliy Lomachenko:

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

The Hull-born star will be hoping it is second time lucky after suffering a points defeat to Jorge Linares in his first World Title challenge.

The event on August 31st at the O2 is set to take place on ‘Sky Sports Box Office’ and is appears to be the biggest fight of the year on British shores.