Vasiliy Lomachenko made his return to London’s historic York Hall, roughly six years since he fought there as part of the World Series of Boxing. Shortly thereafter, he turned pro and has been making history ever since.
(Photo Credit: Matchroom Boxing )
Lomachenko, the WBA/WBO lightweight world champion, will make his long-awaited United Kingdom return Saturday evening against Luke Campbell at The O2 (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+), with the vacant WBC world title at stake as well.
York Hall was packed Wednesday evening, this time to watch Lomachenko and Campbell as they participated in a media workout. Three days before the biggest night on the British boxing calendar, this is what they had to say.
Vasiliy Lomachenko
On the challenges Campbell presents
“Luke Campbell is a tall southpaw with a strong boxing IQ. I know I can’t look past a fighter with his skills. He won an Olympic gold medal and has had a lot of success as a pro.”
On making his UK debut as a pro
“I have wanted to fight in London ever since I turned pro. The fans appreciate my boxing style, and every time I’ve come here, they make me feel appreciated. Campbell is from the UK, but I feel very comfortable.”
On potentially unifying three of the lightweight world titles
“This brings me one step closer to my main goal of having all the belts. I want to unify all of the titles. That is my next goal in boxing. I have won titles in three weight categories, but I never won all four belts in a division. So, for me, Campbell is a very important name as I write my boxing history.”
“I want to make history. That’s the most important thing for me. When I turned pro, I wanted to win a world title right away, and I tied a record by winning a world title in my third fight. Now, I want to make a different {type of} history. Very few fighters have won all four titles. It would mean a lot for me to accomplish this.”
On training at home in Ukraine for this fight
“I trained at the Olympic Sports Centre in Kiev, and it was nice to train at home. We did not change much with my preparation, but I feel very good physically. The weather was good, and I am 100 percent ready for whatever Luke Campbell brings.”
Luke Campbell
“I’m feeling great at the minute. It’s a fantastic opportunity for me. I’ve got the best team around me and we’re all confident.”
“It doesn’t matter how I do it {as long as} I get the win.”
Charlie Edwards:
“I’m super-focused, I’m ready and I’m really looking forward to this challenge.
“This is my time, this is my era and I’m really looking forward to Saturday night.
“He’s a great fighter and challenger. He’s earned his shot, he had a great performance last time, but I’m not Andrew Selby. I’m Charlie Edwards and I’m here to keep this title and push on.
“This is my time and no one is taking this title away from me. I am going to beat Martinez on Saturday night at The O2 for everyone at Sky.”
Joshua Buatsi:
“Saturday night, we put it all on the line, We’re just going to box. You can talk a lot before the bell goes but I’m not the person to do that.
“We’ll see what happens, we have small gloves on, the better man will win. Inside the ring is where the talking is done, where it matters.
“When the pressure is on, the cameras are on, I enjoy it, pressure is good, it creates diamonds.
“We always keep stepping up, we deal with him [Ford] and see what’s next. Tune in and don’t blink.”
Ryan Ford:
“They made a mistake bringing me over, I come to show up and show out.
“I’ll put it all in and give the fans a war, I’m not just here to get in rounds. I’ll bring fireworks, I come fast-paced in his face.”
At the top of the bill, Olympic Champions Vasiliy Lomachenko (13-1, 10 KOs) and Luke Campbell (20-2, 16 KOs) will clash for the WBC, WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine Lightweight World titles, Manchester Heavyweight Hughie Fury (23-2, 13 KOs) takes on former WBA World Champion Alexander Povetkin (34-2, 24 KOs), WBC Flyweight ruler Charlie Edwards (15-1, 6 KOs) makes the second defence of his crown against Mandatory Challenger Julio Cesar Martinez (14-1, 11 KOs), Joe Cordina (9-0, 7 KOs) defends his British and Commonwealth Lightweight titles against Gavin Gwynne (11-0, 1 KO) in a mouth-watering battle of Wales, rising Light-Heavy star Joshua Buatsi (11-0, 9 KOs) defends his WBA International title against Canada’s Ryan Ford (16-4, 11 KOs), James Tennyson (24-3, 20 KOs) and Atif Shafiq (21-2, 5 KOs) meet for the vacant WBA International Lightweight title, Hartlepool star Savannah Marshall (6-0, 4 KOs) makes her highly-anticipated Matchroom Boxing debut, Sheffield amateur standout Dalton Smith (2-0, 1 KO) takes part in his first six round contest and Hull Super-Featherweight prospect Connor Coghill (5-0) lands a dream slot on his former manager’s (Campbell) undercard.
ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Luke Campbell, 12 rounds, Lomachenko’s WBO/WBA and vacant WBC lightweight world titles
ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. ET
Hughie Fury vs. Alexander Povetkin, 12 rounds, heavyweight
ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m.
Entire undercard, including Charlie Edwards’ WBC flyweight world title defense against Julio Cesar Martinez
