12 August 2020

Luke Campbell agrees deal ‘in principle’ to fight Ryan Garcia in November

Olympic gold medallist Luke Campbell is set to face American Ryan Garcia in November for the vacant WBC interim lightweight title.

The 32 year-old has been beaten in his two world title attempts so far in his professional career, against Jorge Linares in 2017 and Vasyl Lomachenko 12 months ago.

Garcia has a perfect professional record after 18 fights (Tass/PA Images)

But now he gets a chance to secure another fully-fledged world title fight as the winner of Campbell-Garcia will become mandatory for Devin Haney’s belt.

ESPN reported that the WBC released a statement saying: "The WBC is pleased to confirm that the respective camps have agreed to the material terms of the Luke Campbell vs. Ryan Garcia bout for the WBC interim lightweight world championship."

Garcia, 22, has made waves as a ferocious puncher having stopped 14 of his 18 opponents since turning pro in 2016.

But now he faces his toughest test to date later this year in what promises to be a thrilling affair.

Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez, who represents Garcia, said: "The date we're looking at is in November, and there's going to [be] provisions in the agreement for the fight taking place in the UK, or in the US."

The absence of crowds due to the coronavirus pandemic is something which is hampering the ability to get big fights made as there is no revenue from the gate.

However, Gomez insists that is something they will not worry about for the time being.

"Right now, we haven't discussed that," he added. "It really depends on protocols and obviously travel restrictions because of COVID."

Campbell, who won gold as an amateur at the London 2012 Games, has a professional record of 20 victories and three defeats.

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