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By Jake Donovan - Every so often, fighters just say, “To hell with the business side of the sport” and just get down to business. Sure, damn near everyone belts out the old (and by today’s standards, outdated) line “Anyone, any place, any time.” But very few mean it.
When Nate Campbell and Joan Guzman say it, they mean it.
Proof? Their head-on collision this weekend in Biloxi, Mississippi (SHOWTIME, Saturday, 9PM ET/PT) should cover that.
It was a fight neither had to pursue, but simply settled on when nobody else in or around the division was willing to step up. The move was hardly a foreign concept to either fighter, who continue to accept whatever assignments are put in front of them, regardless of the financial reward or commercial accolades to be gained – or lack thereof.
Campbell (32-5-1, 25KO) had his eye on a Joel Casamayor rematch the moment he snatched the “0” from Juan Diaz’ resume this past March. Even beyond attempting to settle a five-year old score, the fight made sense from the standpoint of determining lightweight supremacy.
Prior to suffering his first loss, Diaz was being sold as the best 135 lb fighter on the planet despite Casamayor’s claim as the division’s linear champion. Diaz earned his accolades in 2007 after defeating a pair of titlists in Acelino Freitas and Julio Diaz.
All of that disappeared when he ran into Campbell in Cancun earlier this year. A somewhat close fight in the first half turned into a rout for the 36-year old Campbell, who delivered the best performance of a career best known for its shortcomings prior to the fight. [details]
When Nate Campbell and Joan Guzman say it, they mean it.
Proof? Their head-on collision this weekend in Biloxi, Mississippi (SHOWTIME, Saturday, 9PM ET/PT) should cover that.
It was a fight neither had to pursue, but simply settled on when nobody else in or around the division was willing to step up. The move was hardly a foreign concept to either fighter, who continue to accept whatever assignments are put in front of them, regardless of the financial reward or commercial accolades to be gained – or lack thereof.
Campbell (32-5-1, 25KO) had his eye on a Joel Casamayor rematch the moment he snatched the “0” from Juan Diaz’ resume this past March. Even beyond attempting to settle a five-year old score, the fight made sense from the standpoint of determining lightweight supremacy.
Prior to suffering his first loss, Diaz was being sold as the best 135 lb fighter on the planet despite Casamayor’s claim as the division’s linear champion. Diaz earned his accolades in 2007 after defeating a pair of titlists in Acelino Freitas and Julio Diaz.
All of that disappeared when he ran into Campbell in Cancun earlier this year. A somewhat close fight in the first half turned into a rout for the 36-year old Campbell, who delivered the best performance of a career best known for its shortcomings prior to the fight. [details]
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