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.
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 ‘unificate’ 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.”
Credit: Top Rank Press