THERE is no rematch clause when Vasyl Lomachenko takes on Luke Campbell, with the WBC belt they’re fighting for being vacant (the Ukrainian already holds the WBA and WBO lightweight titles). It means Lomachenko can’t afford to make a mistake in their fight at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday (August 31). His team did have reservations about bringing him to UK for this contest.
The Dillian Whyte episode still casts a shadow over British boxing. “Obviously we did things to make sure there’s a level playing field,” Bob Arum, Lomachenko’s promoter told Boxing News. “We had as a precaution VADA testing. No aspersions on Campbell because he’s a clean fighter. If an opponent tests dirty, we want to know and with VADA they would tell each side.”
Neutral judges were also required. They will be Jean Robert Laine, from Monaco, Omar Mintun from Mexico and Canada’s Benoit Russuell. “As far as the judging is concerned they’re all neutral judges that both sides approved,” Arum said.
The referee will be British, with Victor Loughlin getting the job. “My matchmaker says he’s a good referee and we have no reason to doubt that he’d be impartial,” the Top Rank head said.
Both sides have agreed on the officials. Shane McGuigan, Campbell’s trainer, said of Loughlin as the referee, “He’s very fair. He’s not a break it every two seconds, break stop boxing. It’s going to be good for us.”
For our in depth preview of Lomachenko vs Campbell don’t miss the latest issue of Boxing News
