Commence the Loma-Campbell build-up hype!

Vasiliy Lomachenko and Luke Campbell square off on Saturday (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET) for three of boxing's four lightweight world titles. It's a battle between two Olympic champions, with each looking to further secure his legacy.

Jorge Linares and Timothy Bradley Jr. are two men who have unique viewpoints on this battle. Linares fought both Lomachenko and Campbell, losing to the former and defeating the latter. Bradley, a former world titleholder in two divisions, has studied both of these men extensively in his preparation to call the fight on ESPN+ on Saturday.

How do each of them see this playing out?

The matchup

Bradley: It's a good stylistic matchup. Campbell is a taller fighter. Both of these guys are southpaws, so it's going to be an interesting battle because I really haven't seen Loma fight against another southpaw. We've seen Loma's advantage against orthodox fighters, right-handed fighters, but you've rarely seen Loma fight against a natural southpaw.

Stylistically, looking at the fight, I think that Luke Campbell is tailor-made for a fighter like Lomachenko. Campbell has that eastern European type of style, keeping his head right in the middle all the time, really no flex and no bend at the waist. He doesn't move his head a whole lot. It's just going to be target practice for Lomachenko.

Linares: I'll be following that fight very closely. I've faced those two guys in the past. It's a very interesting fight. Lomachenko is a bit faster than Campbell. Campbell is a little bit taller, and he uses his reach very well.

I think the length and reach are going to be a test for Lomachenko for the first three or four rounds because Lomachenko likes to fight up close -- short. Lomachenko will probably not go to the head but to the body.

The styles
Bradley: Luke Campbell loves to stay on the outside and control distance. He doesn't fight that well with the back foot -- it's kind of weird. His defense is terrible off the back foot. All he does is keep his hands up, and that's from all those amateur fights.

Lomachenko has figured out this pro system since losing that split decision to Orlando Salido, and being the master of his craft, he knows what he has to do. He moves his head, he gets his head off the line, and he uses angles.

Lomachenko is just so smart that he's two to three steps ahead of guys. They don't even realize it. They have no clue what he's doing to them. He's basically like a python that wraps around you and basically sucks the life out of you. He suffocates you. Loma puts so much pressure on you, and then he keeps you busy by keeping his hands moving, keeping his head moving.

His legs are ferocious too. He gets around you. He's in front of you, then he's on the side of you, then he's back in front of you, and then he's letting his hands go, and he's touching you. Just like pressing buttons, he's just touching you, touching you, touching you, getting you to do exactly what he wants you to do. And then once he downloads all the information he needs to know about you, it's over.

Linares: The toughest thing about fighting Campbell is after the knockdown. He got better after I knocked him down in Round 2, and I could only hit him with the straight right and really nothing with the jab. He's a really crafty boxer. His length was a little bit of a problem for me, and from the knockdown to the end of the fight, it was a pretty even fight.

Lomachenko never hurt me up top but actually got me to the body. I think if we do it again, knowing that he likes going to the body would make it a very interesting fight.

How can Lomachenko win?

Bradley: In the beginning, Luke Campbell is going to try to establish distance and keep the fight outside. But Loma is going to put that pressure on him, and he's going to figure him out. If Luke Campbell can't make any adjustments -- either by pressing the fight or making any kind of adjustments -- he's going to be in trouble.

Lomachenko is going to line up shots to the body to slow Campbell down and see how he reacts. As soon as Lomachenko sees Campbell step straight back with his hands up, he's going to know what he needs to do.

Linares: Lomachenko has the mentality of a fighter, number one. His lateral movement is a problem for other fighters. Just him being so smart, being an Olympic fighter, that was the difference. Going to the body will definitely be Lomachenko's plan.

How can Campbell win?
Bradley: Campbell is going to have to make adjustments. He has been fighting the same way since he was an amateur, and he's hasn't really come up with any real new tricks or special effects. He's straight up and down, straight up and down with quickness. Campbell might try to go forward and try to outwork Lomachenko.

He doesn't have the punching power needed to keep Lomachenko off of him. And he's not going to outbox Loma, so he's just going to have to fight him.

Linares: Campbell wins this fight by unanimous decision if he uses his long reach, which troubled me for some rounds. Not only does he need to use his reach, but he also has to stay extremely active for the entire fight. The rounds where I beat Loma happened when I was active and went after him.

Campbell cannot just wait for Lomachenko to come after him and wait in the center of the ring. And he should never be on the ropes. I can tell you one thing, though: Campbell has a great chance of winning, and don't be shocked if he puts Lomachenko down like I did.

Predictions
Bradley: I don't think this fight goes the distance. I think Lomachenko stops Campbell because defensively, like I said, he keeps his head in the middle, hands straight up. Lomachenko loves the guys who put their hands straight up in front of them. He's able to use his angles to get around them and blind them with shots, kind of like Manny Pacquaio. That relentless pressure that Lomachenko's going to put on Luke Campbell -- Luke Campbell's not going to have an answer for that.

Linares: Just from fighting both of them, I think that it will be an interesting fight. I think Lomachenko will take it by decision. I most definitely want the winner. I'm fighting at 135 again, and after my fight, I'm looking for one of those two guys.

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‘Cool Hand' Luke Campbell hasn’t always been dealt the most favourable cards. Ahead of the Hull man's showdown with Vasiliy Lomachenko

One of the most talented but perhaps luck-free fighters in British boxing, Luke Campbell has had to negotiate unenviable obstacles personally and professionally to earn a second world title opportunity. The reward? Vasiliy Lomachenko, widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing.

The Ukrainian maestro was surprisingly shoehorned into a vacant WBC title bout, already featuring No.1 contender Campbell, despite holding the WBA and WBO lightweight crowns. Normally Campbell might expect to meet a rival contender from the WBC’s rankings, but facing this hardest of touches is emblematic of his six-year pro career.

Yet hope remains beyond Campbell’s inner circle. A highly decorated amateur in his own right, the Hull man mixed in similar company to the ‘matrix’ Lomachenko before punching for pay. Both fighters clinched Olympic Gold at the London 2012 Olympiad and enjoyed glittering amateur careers at elite level, but as professionals their paths have forked in different directions - Lomachenko hit the fast-track while Campbell’s march has proved a frustrating slow burn.

This Saturday at the O2 Arena in London, Campbell has the opportunity to knock Lomachenko off the boxing peak and draw the recognition he craves and his ability demands. A win, deemed improbable by many, would be more than a long-awaited step to a world title, but a leap into British boxing folklore.

“You don’t get to be ranked the No.1 pound-for-pound if you’re not some sort of a monster. But how do I get on that pound-for-pound list?” a relaxed Campbell, (20-2, 16 KOs), told Boxing Monthly over the phone. “That’s where I want to be. I want to get on that list. He’s the type of guy who can do it all. It’s going to be a very tough night. But it’s a night I believe I’ll come out on top.”

A 15/2 outsider in a two-horse race, Campbell is a sizeable underdog but still a live one. He’s a huge lightweight and, with advantages in stature and dig, arguably the stiffest puncher Lomachenko has faced professionally. He also possesses the pure boxing ability to exploit a 5½ inch reach advantage against a naturally smaller man. But Lomachenko, of course, is no ordinary man.

“I used to be a tall lightweight, but now I believe I’m a big lightweight,” Campbell continued. “I’ve got a hell of a lot of punching power and keep hitting harder and harder, and getting stronger. This is my time. People are going to say what [they want], regardless of what I say, but I believe in myself and how do you get to be the best? By beating the best.

“I’ll use my attributes to the best of my ability. This is going to be some fight. I believe it’s the best two in the division. It doesn’t really matter if you’re the underdog. The good thing about boxing is it can all change around in a single shot.”

This will be Campbell’s second world title tilt after he narrowly lost out to an in-form Jorge Linares in September 2017. In front of a pro-Linares crowd at The Forum in Inglewood, California, Campbell dusted himself off from a second round knockdown to regularly outbox the silky champion before dropping a contested split decision. Campbell’s stirring performance on away soil was even more remarkable given his father’s passing just two weeks previously. Something the fighter held secret until after the fight.

Second time around, circumstances either side of the ropes are much more auspicious. Against Linares, Campbell was burdened by a weight outside the sphere of boxing now the lightness is apparent in his voice. “I’m a different person now to who I was then. I’ve got the best team around me and I’m in a great place,” he said. “I thought I beat Linares. Thought I nicked it. Linares was smart in the later rounds because he did a little bit of showboating and made it look like he was in control. But that’s the only way I could think they gave it to him.”

Campbell feels he has improved immeasurably since the Linares defeat, subsequently leaving Cuban coach Jorge Rubio and regular training camps in far away Miami to bolster Shane McGuigan’s thriving gym in Battersea. His reinvention was underlined by a dominant points win over old nemesis Yvan Mendy on the Joshua-Povetkin undercard last September, three years after the dangerous Frenchman blotted Campbell’s unbeaten record. Inspired by McGuigan, the Hull stylist set up a second world title try with an exquisite display of footwork and flair - and, perhaps just as importantly, exorcised a niggling boxing demon.

“Shane is such a great trainer. The work he does and the programme he sets out for us all is really good,” said Campbell. “I feel I’m learning all the time with Shane. I also get to be home every weekend with my family, which just reminds you of why you’re doing it all.

“Mendy was non-stop coming forward. I’d have given him two rounds at the most [in the rematch]. I’ve never seen a guy who is just so tough. Never seen a chin like it. I think that’s his biggest attribute – his toughness. He never stopped trying all night, but I had fun with him, really. I beat him comfortable, boxed him and did a good job on him.”

Many forget the widely avoided Mendy was a late notice substitute first time around. In an era of soft imports and cautiously plotted opposition, this was high-risk matchmaking for a blue-chip 12-0 house fighter, especially after Campbell’s maddening, two-year build-up to a domestic encounter with local rival Tommy Coyle. Understandably distracted by his father’s battle with cancer, Campbell was dropped by a surging Mendy and withstood waves of pressure before losing a split decision, forcing a career reassessment and sweeping changes.

“[The first Mendy fight] was a hard lesson I didn’t feel I needed to learn. I should have pulled out of the fight five, six days before because I wasn’t nowhere near the races,” Campbell reflected. “I didn’t have the right team around me. I didn’t have any team around me, really. It’s one of those things. I’ve owned it and I’ve got my redemption. I boxed him again and beat him comfortably over 12 rounds.

“I felt like I wasted the first four years of my pro career, going around in circles and not progressing. I think it’s crucial to look around and get the right team for you to move forward in your pro career. I never had that. I was more or less doing it all on my own for the first four years of my career. But now I finally feel like I have that solid team around me.”

Sometimes in life, and boxing, it can feel as if everything is stacked against you. One might call it a travesty if Campbell doesn’t win a professional world title given the skillset at his disposal. Lomachenko probably presents his worst possible, statistical chance of victory though it’s highly unusual for a rival world champion to be dropped into a vacant title fight when his opponent has patiently waited for a shot within that organisation. But Campbell seems unconcerned by the legitimacy and enticed by the possibility.

“It’s one of those things. The cards have already been dealt now. It’s irrelevant what I think,” he said. “These are my cards and this is what I’m playing. I guess things happen for a reason. I’ve never had it easy in my boxing career. It won’t be starting now. It’s 20% physical and 80% all in your head. That’s where a lot of fighters fall short [against Lomachenko]. They’re beaten before they get in there or whatever else. Everybody has negative thoughts and doubts here and there, but I believe I my ability and I can’t wait. It’s an exciting time.

“The gym is buzzing at the minute. Josh Taylor has just become a world champion so everybody is really happy for him. It’s in a good place. [Campbell and Taylor] don’t do a lot of in-house sparring. But we use each other at the right times and we’ve both got fights coming up against southpaws. I’ve got this massive opportunity that I’m going to grab with both hands.”

Fighting on home soil is an undeniable advantage and an opportunity to headline on Sky Box Office Pay-Per-View in the UK affords Campbell with some financial security for his wife and children. As a young lad in Hull, Campbell dreamed but never believed he’d scale such heights.

“You always have your dreams and ambitions, but it’s all the hard work from being a young lad. Sometimes people think it’s just come out of nowhere, but I’ve been doing this from the first day I walked into the boxing gym and I’ve given it everything,” said Campbell. “I’ve never slacked off, I’ve never gone out partying with my friends when I should be in the gym. I think that’s my biggest attribute. It’s my discipline and dedication to what I’m doing. I believe that’s why I’m here today, fighting the best.

“I’ve been dreaming every night from being a kid about being in mega fights, beating guys, being the best and being champion. I’ve always had those dreams. My dad always said to me that I was going to hold all the belts and I can see it now. He said I was going to be Olympic champion [when Campbell was young]. I never believed him. Not one bit. I didn’t get to the Beijing Olympics [2008] and my dad was still saying, ‘You’re going to be Olympic champion’. I still never believed then the next thing is…I’m an Olympic champion. My dad always said I will hold all the belts and I will hold all the belts.”

With Bernard Campbell’s prophecy halfway there, it would mean the world for his gifted son to complete the dream against Lomachenko, of all people.

“I guess it would mean everything,” mused Campbell. “It will mean a lot of tears of happiness and a nice moment I can share with the man upstairs. He’s always said it and that’s what’s going to happen. This is why I do it. I want to be the best.”