They call Vasiliy Lomachenko “the Matrix” because of his preternatural ability to control space, timing and distance in the ring. And he is such a blisteringly hot favourite to defeat Luke Campbell at the O2 Arena on Saturday that a £1,000 bet on the Ukrainian would net only £60 in profit if he walks away with the WBA, WBC and WBO lightweight belts wrapped around his waist.
Yet Campbell, a 2012 Olympic gold medallist who has a 20-2 record as a professional, is singularly convinced he has the tools to short-circuit his opponent and spring one of the biggest upsets in British boxing history – up there with Randolph Turpin stunning Sugar Ray Robinson and Lloyd Honeyghan defenestrating Donald Curry. “I love a challenge,” he said. “To be the best I have to beat the best and this is certainly one of those challenges. I’m ready.”
The 31-year-old looks calm and ready and is also prepared to put his bank balance where his mouth is. He could have made more money fighting Lomachenko in the US but wanted the fight staged in Britain to give him a better shot of unlikely glory.
He and his trainer, Shane McGuigan, are convinced he has learned from a narrow defeat in his first world title bout against Jorge Linares two years ago and can use his three-inch reach and five-inch height advantage to keep Lomachenko off balance.
“Luke is huge at the weight, punching extremely hard and I believe he is at the peak of his career,” said McGuigan, who points out Campbell has sparred more than 100 rounds with the light-welterweight champion, Josh Taylor. “He has improved and learned from his losses. I’ve never seen Luke out of his comfort zone. No matter who he is put in with he rises to their ability. It’s going to be always hard to prepare for a guy as unique as Lomachenko. But I believe this is Lomachenko’s hardest fight.”
That was not, it must be said, a widely held view among those at Thursday’s press conference. Bob Arum was busy telling anyone who would listen that Lomachenko was the greatest technical fighter he had seen since Muhammad Ali and the sense from fighters like Andre Ward and Paulie Malignaggi was that the Ukrainian would be operating on a vastly higher plane come Saturday night.
As for Lomachenko, he did not say much. Then again, a record of 410 victories in 412 fights, amateur and professional, including two Olympic gold medals and several world titles, largely speaks for itself.
“Maybe, maybe, it will be a hard fight for me,” he said. “Luke is a tough fighter. He’s a smart fighter. He is technical fighter. So it will be a technical fight. I can’t wait to come to the ring and show my boxing skills for British fans and for fans around the world.”
There was a blunt warning for Campbell from Lomachenko’s last opponent Anthony Crolla, who was flattened in four rounds when the pair fought in April.
“A few minutes into the fight it dawns on you,” he said. “You start realising how well he is judging the distance and how every slight mistake is getting punished. I prepared the best I possibly could. I’d watched him for years but I couldn’t seem to get near him. He was so hard to hit – that was the main thing – but he also hit a little harder than I expected.
“We know how good his footwork is. It is unbelievable. There were punches I didn’t see and the shot you don’t see is the one that puts you over. And that was the case with me. I knew I was face down but there was nothing I could do about it.”
Crolla believes Campbell’s best chance is to use physical advantages to keep his opponent at range but he does not expect him to hold off the world’s best fighter for 12 rounds.
“It is a huge task. Luke has the tools to cause some problems but I believe Lomachenko will find the answers. He is chasing greatness. I don’t think anyone beats him in the lightweight division.”
That is something even Campbell’s biggest fans would find it hard to disagree with.