Nate Campbell's Boxing Career Possibly Over
Press Release
After suffering a one-sided decision loss to Victor Ortiz on May 15, former unified lightweight champion Nate Campbell faced some serious questions about his career. Did he get old? Was it over? Was it time to shut it down? Even in the locker room immediately after the fight, Campbell wasted no time in assessing the situation. “I looked at John David [Jackson] and Terry [Trekas], and I said ‘give it to me straight’” said Campbell. “And both of them looked me in the eye and said ‘It doesn’t look good.’”
Terry sat me down and said “Look, let’s have some tests done, and if the doctor says that’s it, then that’s it, at least at this level of competition.”
“And I was fully in agreement with that, because I will never allow myself to become somebody’s stepping stone.”
Campbell then underwent a battery of tests and MRI’s at Carillon Sports Medicine in St. Petersburg, Florida, run by Dr. Adam Brunson M.D. FAAFP.
“Mr. Campbell suffers from Right Piriformis Syndrome” commented Dr. Brunson. “This condition is caused by the piriformis muscle in the pelvis becoming inflamed, which in turn compresses the sciatic nerve. This also affects several other lower back, pelvis, and thigh muscles. The practical result is that the patient loses most of their ability for lateral movement, and in the case of a professional boxer, the ability to ‘plant’ ones feet to affect power punches. Mr. Campbell’s injury however did not happen overnight. This is a progressive condition, and in my opinion it has been affecting him for at least a year and probably longer. It’s actually quite surprising that Mr. Campbell had been able to perform at the level that he has over the past several years. The condition however can be corrected, and Mr. Campbell is currently undergoing an extensive rehabilitation routine that should restore most if not all of the movement, rotation, and flexibility in the affected areas.”
None of what Dr. Brunson told Campbell surprised him. “I knew I wasn’t shot, and I knew I didn’t just suddenly get old. I just never knew this was this serious. Yeah, it bothered me from time to time, but I always thought it was just part of being over 35. I never knew the true extent of the injury. In the last couple of training camps, when it would act up I would just take a day off from running and it would be ok the next day. This is probably something I should have dealt with a long time ago, or at least let my team know how serious it was. But you know how fighters are, we never think it’s that serious. We think we’re bulletproof” said Campbell.
As for what the future holds for him, Campbell is optimistic. “I’m ready to get back to work. I have about 8 to 10 weeks of this rehab left, but I can combine it with a training camp, so basically I’m good to go. Hopefully in the next few weeks Terry can get with Richard and Eric and see what Golden Boy is going to put together for me. They will probably think it’s best to put me in soft the first time out just to see if I’m better or not, but I’ll leave that up to them. I just want to fight.”