Luke Campbell thinks Ryan Garcia does not want Jorge Linares just yet

Hull’s two-time world lightweight title challenger Luke Campbell has had a roller coaster 2020, without even stepping into the ring. Subsequent to outscoring Campbell in August, unified king Vasyl Lomachenko was elevated by the WBC to the somewhat spurious status of Franchise champion. This enabled Interim boss Devin Haney to become the WBC title-holder but, when he was injured, the American was then made ’Champion in Recess’ by the Merxico-based body. They mandated their top two contenders, Campbell and No. 1 Javier Fortuna, to meet for the vacant strap but Covid-19 delayed that clash and, with Haney now recovered, he has the belt back.

Campbell is waiting to hear what is next for him but in the meantime kindly gave us his thoughts (full video below) on a mooted fight between old foe Jorge Linares and popular Ryan Garcia, plus the agreed contest between IBF ruler Teofimo Lopez and Lomachenko. Campbell feels Linares may have regressed since taking a disputed points victory over him in 2017, but still considers the Venezuelan marvel a threat.

"He’s still a very good fighter, he’s still a dangerous fighter, a warrior and a three-weight world champion," Campbell commented. "Is he still the Linares that I fought? No, I doubt it, but who knows? He did fantastic in his last fight [against tough Carlos Morales], a great KO victory. I just think Garcia’s saying names to build fights for the future, but I can’t see him stepping up and taking Linares right now."

Campbell chose not to pick a winner between Lomachenko and Lopez but is looking forward to their unification duel.

"It’s a very exciting fight, certainly a fight that I’ll be tuning in to watch," Campbell stated. "I’ve been in the ring with both guys, I’ve done a lot of sparring with Lopez. He’s a good fighter, he’s got skill and he’s got to be a world champion quicker than I have. I think it’ll be a great fight."