2012 Olympic gold medal winner Luke Campbell admits that he was surprised with how quickly Ryan Garcia recovered after being dropped in the second round of their contest last Saturday night in Dallas, Texas.
During the second, Campbell landed a big counter left that sent Garcia crashing down on the mat.
Campbell never jumped on him, explaining that he felt Garcia had recovered very quickly after getting back to his feet.
"He surprised me. Once he felt my power, I thought he would want out. I didn't think he would want to stay in there, so that element surprised me. Obviously he was quick and he had power in both hands, but there was nothing there until that shot, which I'm devastated about," Campbell said to Sky Sports.
"I think he was asleep in mid-air. I think it was the actual fall that woke him up. I was surprised how quick he just recovered from that, because my plan after that is to get straight on him, and I've always been a good finisher.
"Once I can smell blood, I've always taken advantage and gone for it, and got them out of there, but you've got instincts inside the ring and he was back to normal really. He didn't really give me the opportunity to jump on him and take advantage of that."
By the fifth, Garcia had full control of the contest and Campbell found himself in serious trouble at the end of the round.
Campbell was able to bounce back in the sixth - but he was drilled with a vicious body shot in the seventh. The punch sent Campbell down to his knees for the full count of ten.
"When you get hit by that shot, when I stepped back I could not breathe, and I couldn't move," said Campbell.
"Forty seconds after that I was still struggling to catch my breath. That's never happened to me before. That was his best shot. He threw it a couple of times to the head, which I blocked. He hit me with it once or twice on the button. You've seen guys get chinned, wiped out cold with that shot. I took it to the head and I was alright, because I've got a great chin. As he threw that shot, I covered up to the head and he just lifted up my rib cage with that shot. What can I say?"
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