Mitchell and Campbell showcase depth of lightweight division at the O2

[boxrec]

Luke Campbell MBE's second opponent, Darlington's Neil Hepper (5-3), was quickly brushed aside by the Olympic champion, who demonstrated breathtaking speed and power which should eventually take him to domestic honours and well beyond.

Campbell (9st 8lbs 13oz) steps in and out of range gracefully, and delivers his shots with precision and power. Hepper (9st 9bs 5oz) got through with a jab before Campbell quickly stepped away to throw a left, followed by a left hook which landed just below the ribcage and put Hepper off balance, sending him down for a count.

Hepper wasn't hurt, and started to respond, but then Campbell stepped in to deliver two more frighteningly quick hooks to the side of the body, which put the Darlington man down and out at 1.59 seconds. Hepper lasted around 30 seconds more than Campbell's first opponent, Gloucester's Andy Harris.

After the fight, Campbell told Sky's Adam Smith: "I train hard. Come fight night, I'm ready and prepared.

"I think I'm in the most exciting weight division there is. Plenty of good fights out there. I'm taking one fight at a time, learning as I go. I just want to excite the fans."

Capmbell is not far wrong about the domestic lightweight division, and Kevin Mitchell (35-2) is showing signs of being back to his best under Tony Sims after stopping Mexican Marco Lopez (23-3) in the sixth round.

Mitchell's (9st 9lbs) jab was sharp in the opener and he delivered a tasty looking left hook/uppercut, an aesthetically pleasing combination when it lands. His quick hands bamboozled Lopez (9st 8lbs 3oz) in the second, moving to the back foot in the third, and remaining in full control. When Lopez pushed forwards, Mitchell was content to operate from the ropes where he slipped the Mexicans shots and countered.

Mitchell gave Lopez a real working over in the fourth round, and landed a left hook to the body that sent him down slowly, but he made the count and recovered during the break. Mitchell continued to pepper the Mexican with a variety of punches, and finally sent him down again in the sixth. The Mexican did get up, but Steve Gray had seen enough at 1.44 seconds.

Mitchell bags the IBF Intercontinental title. Next up should be a clash against 'Dirty' Derry Matthews in December. A "nice little domestic dust-up", says Mitchell.

 

 

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