Can Luke Campbell do it? The Brit travelled to the United States for his last contest, beating Adrian Yung with a memorable fifth round stoppage. However, this is a different challenge altogether – Vasyl Lomachenko is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in world boxing.
Lomachenko is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and he ended his amateur career with an incredible 396 wins from 397 fights. The Ukrainian is a dominant figure in the sport and he will be quietly confident of adding the vacant WBC lightweight title to his hefty collection of belts.
Without further ado, let’s get down to the evening itself. Here is some of the need-to-know information ahead of Lomachenko vs Campbell, as well as our top boxing betting tips for the main event. On paper, it looks a thrilling night of top class boxing and fingers crossed it lives up to the hype.
When Is The Fight?
The bout take will place on Saturday 31st August 2019 at the O2 Arena, London. According to Matchroom Boxing, the first fight on the undercard will get underway at around 6pm and there are currently no tickets available.
With a full capacity crowd in the capital, fight fans should expect a raucous atmosphere, especially with pound-for-pound star Lomachenko involved. Early predictions suggest that ring walks for the main event will start at around 10pm BST.
How To Watch Lomachenko vs Campbell
Lomachenko’s first British fight as a professional will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Box Office. A pay-per-view event promoted by Matchroom Boxing, fight fans can purchase the bout for £19.95.
With the fight taking place in the UK, the main event will be taking place at a respectable hour and therefore there is less chance of missing the fight due to unsociable hours. If you pay for the event but miss the bout, there will be two replays of the entire card on Sunday.
Who Is Fighting On The Undercard?
Lomachenko vs Campbell isn’t the only world title fight taking place at the O2 on Saturday night. The likeable Charlie Edwards puts his WBC world flyweight title on the line against Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar and most boxing fans will be expecting the British fighter to get the job done.
Meanwhile, high-profile names like Hughie Fury and Joshua Buatsi also feature. Fury’s fight with Alexander Povetkin is the pick of the undercard – Fury is the underdog but a win for the 24-year-old wouldn’t exactly go down as one of heavyweight boxing’s biggest shocks. He is more than capable of holding his own.
The full Lomachenko vs Campbell undercard line-up can be found here:
- Vasyl Lomachenko vs Luke Campbell (vacant WBC, WBA Super, WBO lightweight)
- Charlie Edwards vs Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (WBC world flyweight)
- Hughie Fury vs Alexander Povetkin (heavyweight)
- Joe Cordina vs Gavin Gwynne (lightweight)
- Joshua Buatsi vs Ryan Ford (light heavyweight)
- James Tennyson vs Atif Shafiq (lightweight)
- Savannah Marshall vs TBA
- Dalton Smith vs TBA
- Connor Coghill vs TBA
Lomachenko vs Campbell: Betting Tips
It will come as no surprise to see Lomachenko priced up as the odds-on favourite. 1/18 may seem short but the Ukrainian is the dominant force in the lightweight division and you won’t find too many punters backing a Campbell upset this weekend.
However, the Hull fighter is certainly capable of taking this bout into the later rounds. Over 8.5 rounds is priced at 19/20 this weekend and that is very tempting indeed. 3 of Loma’s 13 wins as a professional have come on points and he could be set for a fourth win courtesy of the judges’ scorecards on Saturday night.
Lomachenko to win on points is perhaps the best bet of all at 9/4. Yes, the manner of his fourth-round demolition job on Anthony Crolla was impressive but Campbell won’t go down easily. He has worked incredibly hard to bounce back after losing to Jorge Linares and this will mean everything to him.
If nothing else, one thing is for sure – fight fans could be treated to a dramatic night of professional boxing. With so much hype surrounding the undercard bouts as well as the main event, this could be one of the biggest nights of the year for the sport.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Damian Dovarganes / AP Photo*
