Former WBA Light-Heavyweight world champion Gabriel Campillo
has been a fighter who has seen his share of ups and downs throughout his
career. Despite being a former world and former European Light-Heavyweight
champion, Campillo is perhaps best known for being on the losing end of
decisions that some believed should have gone his way in his fights with Beibut
Shumenov and Tavoris Cloud.
After losing to Tavoris Cloud in 2012, Campillo would suffer
two knockout losses in his next four fights at the hands of current WBO
Light-Heavyweight world champion Sergey Kovalev and recent world title
challenger Andrzej Fonfara. Following his loss to Fonfara there were some who
questioned whether Campillo’s days as a top contender in the hunt for a shot at
a world title were behind him.
Campillo returned to the ring following his loss to Fonfara
in May of this year scoring a seventh round stoppage of British contender Ricky
Pow. The former world champion looked to build on the momentum from his win
over Pow when he took on undefeated IBF number six rated contender Thomas
Williams Jr. on Friday night at the Little Creek Casino in Shelton, Washington.
Williams, who entered the fight with a record of 17-0, with
12 Knockouts appeared to be the favorite going into the fight, despite
Campillo’s higher level of opposition and experience. In fights where an
unbeaten prospect/ contender who one might argue has not been tested in his
career steps up to face a veteran who has more experience, the question that
will likely be asked is how will that fighter respond to adversity should it
occur.
Campillo, who entered the fight with a record of 23-6-1,
with 10 Knockouts would be the battle tested veteran who would ask those
questions of Williams. It was clear from the opening bell that the undefeated
Williams had the advantage in terms of power as he landed solid shots to the
body and head of Campillo. It appeared early in this fight that the opinion of
some that Campillo was now on the decline may have been warranted.
Williams kept up his aggression in round two as he
consistently forced the action and was able to keep Campillo somewhat on the
defensive. Although Williams was able to get off to a good start in this fight,
Campillo did not appear hurt by Williams’ offense.
Although he appeared to lose the first two rounds Campillo,
a native of Madrid, Spain began to let his hands go more frequently in round
three as he looked to win his first fight in the United States. The tempo of
the fight shifted in round four as Campillo opened a cut over Williams’ left
eye in with his jab.
Clearly bothered by the cut, Williams used movement to try
and avoid Campillo who was now the aggressor. Williams’ solid offense earlier
in this fight was not there at this stage and at the end of the fifth round,
the fight was stopped by a ringside physician who deemed the cut too dangerous
for Williams to continue.
Some might criticize Williams by saying he was affected by
the cut and did not respond to the adversity however, it is important to
remember that any cut especially one that can affect a fighter’s vision can
certainly play a role in how a fighter fights. In my opinion, it is how a
fighter deals with a setback that will determine what they are made of. We will
have to wait and see what the future holds for the Fort Washington, Maryland
native Thomas Williams Jr. , but this loss to Campillo should be looked at as a
setback that will likely benefit Williams in the long-term.
The fight, which was billed as an IBF Light-Heavyweight
eliminator for the number two ranking now puts Gabriel Campillo very much back
in the mix for a potential world title shot. How quickly that opportunity may
come his way however, remains to be seen. It was announced on Friday that an agreement
had been reached for a potential unification bout between current IBF/WBA
Light-Heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins and WBO champion Sergey Kovalev to
take place in November.
The agreement however, will depend on whether Kovalev is
successful in his title defense Saturday night against former IBO champion Blake
Caparello in Atlantic City. The possibility exists that Campillo now the number
two contender will next face French contender Nadjib Mohammedi, the current IBF number one contender to
determine a mandatory challenger for the winner of the potential
Hopkins-Kovalev fight, should it happen.
Whether or not
the politics of the sport will prevent a potential world title shot for Gabriel
Campillo at least in the short-term remains to be seen. Campillo has however,
showed that despite suffering some setbacks and some questions about his future
not only as a top contender, but also as a fighter in general that he is still
a top contender in the Light-Heavyweight division.
.
“And That’s The
Boxing Truth.”
The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.
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