Luke “The Golden Boy” Campbell: A Closer Look

By Jeremiah J. Preisser

Luke “The Golden Boy” Campbell, one of England’s most talented instruments of pugilist success. A Hull native, Luke was a short-tempered youngster, who quickly gave way to fits of anger. That is, of course, until he checked himself into a clinic which allowed him and others like him to foster their aggression into more productive manners. That clinic happened to be a boxing gym at the age of thirteen.

Luke displayed an aptitude for the gloved game in the early stages of training, but that didn’t prevent him from losing his first two amateur matches. On the recommendations of those around him, he decided to take his talents to another local boxing club by the name of St. Pauls Boxing Academy. There he met trainer Mick Bromby. Mick refined the teenagers craft and set him loose upon the amateur world, where flatly, he lit it up; winning many local and international tournaments, and securing himself as a representative of the United Kingdom at 56 kg in the 2012 Olympics.

Seeing as London was hosting the summer games, it was especially important for “The Golden Boy” to perform well. And that is exactly what he did. In front of thousands of raucous onlookers, the tall southpaw squared off against John Joe Nevin in a first-ever gold medal match between the U.K. and Ireland. Nevin was a fast-punching orthodox boxer who had overcome a stream of talented fighters on the road to his finals match. The bout itself proved competitive, but Campell, with his length, speed, and smarts, proved too much in this nine-minute game of physical chess and recorded a 14-11 points victory, sealing the deal with a knockdown around the 1:35 mark of the third and final round. In a first for Great Britain since Henry Thomas’ effort in 1908, Luke Campbell had won an Olympic gold medal in the bantamweight division.

His return home was met with a hero’s welcome, as around 13,000 people turned out to greet him at Hull’s City Hall. Royal Mail showed its support by issuing a postage stamp with his face on it and a post box and telephone booth were also painted gold to commemorate his efforts. On top of these decorations, Campbell was honored by the Queen with an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), an award recognizing a significant achievement made to the U.K.

After settling in for a number of months, Campbell and the British boxing world turned its attention to a professional debut at lightweight. Luke Campbell was given a July 13th, 2013 date with 2-5 Andy Harris at Craven Park in his home city of Hull. The bout was staged in front of a few shy of 7,000, with future titleholder Kell Brook, Olympian Anthony Ogogo, and Tommy Coyle dressing up the card. Harris gave Campbell eighty-eight seconds worth of work before succumbing to multiple knockdowns.

Britain’s “Golden Boy” went on a seven-fight tear afterwards, stopping five of his opponents before meeting his supposed toughest test to date, an Argentinian battler by the name of Daniel Eduardo Brizuela. Brizuela was eight months removed from a spirited effort against one of Britain’s better lightweights in Tommy Coyle. Their memorable battle was a knockdown-drag-out affair that saw each man hit the canvass four times. Campbell, however, wasn’t out to take that sort of sustained punishment, his heart and fists only wished to deal it. Campbell dealt with his seasoned foe with class, scoring with quick power shots and counters from the outside, dropping him in the fifth and being ruled unable to continue a short time later.

Following this victory, Luke looked to compete again in February of 2015 but ended up pulling out of a scheduled bout to spend time with his father who was diagnosed with cancer. He quickly changed mind, however, and ended up competing in March against Nicaraguan Levis Morales, 11-1-1, 4 KO’s. Claiming to be “inspired” by his father’s battle with the crippling disease, he stepped through the ropes with heavy hands and an even heavier heart. “The Golden Boy” boxed effectively, establishing distance with his jab and long power shots throughout. Whenever Morales had tried to mount an offensive, he was picked off with clean, accurate counters.

In the second round, one of these counters found its mark high on Morlaes’ head. The Nicaraguan had thrown a left hook followed by a long right hand, but Luke stepped out of range and responded with a beautiful one-two that left Morales on all fours. Morales got up at the count of six, a bit unsteady, and received the mandatory eight-count. Nearing the end of the round at this point, Levis approached Luke, jabbed and started to open up with a left hook but was swiftly caught with a straight left which staggered him back. The Brit came out strongly in the third, landing almost at will and a barrage against the ropes put his man down once again, only this time the ref had seen enough punishment for the night.

The post-fight interview highlighted Luke Campbell’s future intentions: a popular summer match-up with the aforementioned Tommy Coyle in Campbell’s hometown of Hull. Coyle, coming off a couple of stoppage wins, most notably an early knockout over two-time lightweight title challenger, Michael “The Great” Katsidis, has relished the idea of facing his the former Olympian. First, however, Campbell had to get past the France-based Aboubeker Bechelaghemon on the 9th of May, 2015.

Campbell had little trouble in doing so, stopping the previously never-stopped challenger in the third round via two excellent short right hooks, which were then followed up by a salvo of heavy blows along the ropes. This improved Luke’s record to 11-0, 9 KO’s.

It now seems the British Isles (and American followers of the British boxing scene, like myself) can look forward to a showdown between two of their classier 135-pounders: the burgeoning star and Andy Lee-esque style of operator in Luke “The Golden Boy” Campbell and the quick-handed gameness of Tommy “Boom Boom” Coyle.

Of course Luke Campbell’s sights are set much higher than exciting domestic showdowns. He wants to be a world player and his talent looks as if it can take him there.