Following his lopsided defeat at the hands of welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., Mikey Garcia opted to vacate his WBClightweight title, rather than face his mandatory challenger, Luke Campbell.[2] Lomachenko successfully petitioned the WBC to face Campbell for their vacant belt.[3][4] The fight was finalized at the end June and set for 31 August at The O2 Arena.[5]
Lomachenko would praise Campbell in the build up, saying "He has a big reach and he has a high boxing IQ, maybe for me it will be a big challenge." Campbell would say that "I've never shied away from a challenge, we're the best two in the division and you're going to see one hell of a fight."[6][7]
Joe Cordina retained British and Commonwealth lightweight titles against fellow Welshman Gavin Gwynne.
Edwards vs Martinez
Martinez made an aggressive start and in the third round Edwards was forced to take a knee after a number of body shots. While his left glove and knee were touching the canvas, Martinez landed a shot to the ribs that Edwards prevented Edwards from beating the count. The replays of the incident prompted a chorus of boos from the crowd. Martinez was initially declared the KO winner and the new WBC flyweight world champion. However Edwards's promoter Eddie Hearn, instantly appealed to the WBC, speaking in the aftermath would describe the knockout shot as "so late it was next week". Less than 10 minutes after the fight ended, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman ruled the bout a no contest, meaning that Edwards retained his title.[8]
Povetkin vs Fury
In the chief support, Fury would start the stronger making use of his 5-inch reach advantage, however as the bout wore on Povetkin would find ways of landing with his right hand and by the ninth round Fury was cut near his left eye. Povetkin did tire late on but Fury could take advantage. At the end of 12 rounds Povetkin won a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the bout 117–111 in the Russian favour.[9][10]
Main Event
After a cagey first of couple of rounds, where Campbell used both his reach and height advantage to keep Lomachenko off balance and at a distance, before the champion found the mark with some sharp combinations. Lomachenko hurt Campbell badly at the end of fifth with a string of hooks to the body and head that left the challenger on the brink of going down before the ring sounded to end the round. With just over a minute left in the 11th round a pair of hooks to the body followed by a right to the head sent Campbell down, he beat the count and made it to the final bell. The bout went to the judges, two of them scored it 119–108, with the other having it 118-109 all in favour of Lomachenko.[11][12][13][14]
Aftermath
Speaking in ring after the bout Lomachenko praised Campbell saying "He has big amateur experience, he's a smart fighter, a technical fighter and you saw his reach so of course it was hard for me. He gave me a good experience and a good fight. I want a unification fight for the four belts." Campbell likewise would praise Lomachenko saying "He is so good, he adapts to any plans, tonight was not the jackpot but my time will come." He would later describe the bout as first time he ever been "truly beaten".[15]
Former world champion Carl Frampton, speaking as part of the BBC Radio 5 Live commentary team, was among those impressed by Campbell effort saying "I never expected that. It was down to Luke Campbell who showed such skill alongside grit and determination. His stock has risen dramatically tonight even though he is the loser. I think Lomachenko underplayed how hard that was. I think it's the toughest fight he has had as a professional."[16][17]
