Luke Campbell deserves credit and respect for the way he fought against Ukrainian world champion Vasyl Lomachenko, according to Jason Quigley.
Speaking to Off The Brawl, the Donegal boxer said, “If you didn’t know the fighters you would think, ‘Lomachenko breezed that.’”
“I think it’s because of how well Lomachenko has won his previous fights that everyone is giving Campbell such high praise.
“And he does deserve it. He tried to control the pace and the distance, which did make it difficult for Lomachenko at times,” Quigley said.
Campbell, who won gold at the 2012 London Olympics beating John Joe Nevin, was given his second opportunity to become a world champion against Lomachenko, however, he lost a unanimous decision.
Quigley explained how Lomachenko’s approach inside the ring, saying that it’s unlikely you would ever see the Ukranian knockout an opponent in the first two rounds.
“He sizes you up, goes through the motions, picks you apart and then goes to work on you. It was another quality performance from Lomachenko.
“We have to remember that he came up from featherweight up to lightweight to fight Campbell who is naturally a very big lightweight,” he said.
But Andy Lee said that he wasn’t so sure that Lomachenko had lived up to the prefight hype.
“I don’t think Lomachenko lived up to the hype but that’s because of who he was in the ring against - a much bigger man.
“There was a lot of talk of him going up through the weights and even challenging Pacquiao when he first came on the scene but I think now that reality is hitting home and he’s getting a little bit old.
“If he fights the winner of Commey vs Lopez and unifies the division he’ll be moving back down,” Lee said.
The former middleweight world champion said that Campbell can take heart from the fact that he was able to hurt Lomachenko.
“I think that Luke Campbell deserves huge credit because he fought really, really well. And he did hurt Lomachenko with that body shot and he switched to the head.
“He noticeably moved away and didn’t engage after three or four body shots throughout the fight,” Lee said.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
