By Ian S Palmer
It’s been three years since they first met, but lightweights Luke Campbell of England and Yvan Mendy of France will meet in a rematch this Saturday, September 22nd at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The 12-round bout is on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua vs Alexander Povetkin fight and can be seen live in the UK on Sky Box Office while fans in North America can catch the action on DAZN. This is being billed as an eliminator for by the WBC with the winner supposedly earning a shot at their champion Mikey Perez. Campbell last fought in May when he stopped Troy James in the fifth round while Mendy’s last outing was an eighth-round stoppage of Jesus Arevalo in December.
The 30-year-old Campbell is best known for his excellent effort against former WBA Lightweight Champion Jorge Linares a year ago, but he lost a close split decision. That was his second loss as a pro as his first defeat and knockdown came at the hands of Mendy by way of a 12-round split decision in December, 2015 in a bout for Campbell’s WBC International Lightweight Title. Campbell will climb into the ring with a record of 18-2 along with 15 Kos to his name.
Campbell’s a slick-boxing southpaw who stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 71-inch reach. Although known for his boxing skills, he also has considerable power as his current knockout ratio is an impressive 75 per cent. He turned pro in 2013 and has 113 rounds under his belt. Campbell, who hails from the city of Hull, enjoyed an excellent amateur career and won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England.
Campbell has more or less handled the pro game just as well as he did the amateurs with his only losses coming by way of split decision. Since turning pro, he’s won the WBC International , WBC Silver, and British Commonwealth Lightweight Titles. His notable wins have been over the likes of Gary Sykes, Darleys Perez, Tommy Coyle, Derry Mathews and former IBF Super Featherweight Champion Argenis Mendez. Campbell’s style and power make him a fan-friendly boxer, but he’s still underrated by many.
Mendy is now 33 years old and he enters the rematch with a record of 40-4-1 with 19 Kos. He stands just over 5-feet-8-inches tall with an unlisted reach. He’s got quite a bit of experience as he’s boxed 296 rounds since turning pro in 2006. Since turning pro he’s captured several minor and regional belts including the WBF Intercontinental Super Lightweight Title along with the French, WBC International, European, IBF Inter-Continental, and WBC Silver Lightweight Championships.
He has good boxing skills, but not too much in the way of power as his current knockout ratio stands at 41 per cent. He owns a good chin though as he’s never been stopped. Mendy’s four losses came at the hands of Abdoulaye Soukouna by six-round unanimous decision in 2008, and by 10-round unanimous decision in 2011 as well as a 12-round unanimous decision to Viktor Postol in 2012 and 12-round unanimous decision to Edis Tatli in 2015.
Mendy obviously had trouble with Soukouna since his 10-round draw was also against him in 2011. However, he’s now on a good roll with 10 straight wins since losing to Tatli three years ago. Mendy’s biggest wins have been over Campbell as well as Felix Lora and Francesco Patera. He’s had trouble when stepping up in class and hasn’t progressed as a pro the way Campbell has.
Prediction…
Mendy should enter the fight with quite a bit of confidence after dropping and beating Campbell three years ago. However, he hasn’t progressed as a pro the way Campbell has. Mendy has still been facing mostly Grade B opponents while Campbell proved against Linares that he’s a genuine contender. I think Campbell’s improved quite a bit over the past three years and should be able to avenge his loss against Mendy.
