By Jake Donovan
As far back he could remember, Vasiliy Lomachenko always wanted to be a headlining act in London.
The two-time Olympic Gold medalist and three-division titlist gets his wish this weekend, already receiving star treatment days ahead of his three-belt lightweight title fight versus England’s Luke Campbell. The bout takes place this Saturday live from an already sold-out O2 Arena in London, England.
Lomachenko (13-1, 10KOs) and Campbell both captured Gold medals in the 2012 London Olympics, with the Ukrainian southpaw returning to town one year later during his brief run in the World Series of Boxing before turning pro in Oct. 2013.
Six years and four major titles later, his dream of returning to jolly old England is finally a reality.
"I have wanted to fight in London ever since I turned pro,” Lomachenko noted during an open workout Wednesday afternoon. “The fans appreciate my boxing style, and every time I've come here, they make me feel appreciated.
“Campbell is from the (United Kingdom), but I feel very comfortable.”
The burning desire to fight in the UK intensified when Lomachenko accompanied longtime friend and stablemate Oleksandr Usyk to Manchester, England for his cruiserweight title defending knockout of Tony Bellew last November. The event took place in front of a sold-out crowd at Manchester Arena, leaving the reigning lightweight titlist determined to cross off an England headliner from his personal bucket list.
That wish was granted earlier this spring, when the World Boxing Council (WBC) approved a request from Lomachenko and Top Rank to fight for its vacant title versus England’s Campbell (20-2. 13KOs).
It went a long way towards reaching his goal of becoming undisputed lightweight champion, having already claimed title wins over Jorge Linares and Jose Pedraza.
"This brings me one step closer to my main goal of having all the belts,” notes Lomachenko, who claimed one belt each at featherweight and super featherweight before moving up last May. “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."
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
