"I still feel in my head I did enough to nick it out. I'm not complaining as it was a great, close fight and I was the away fighter against the champion on his show. However, I think I proved to the world that I'm at that level now, so I don't really see it as a rebuilding process. I would've liked the immediate rematch, but he has the agreement with Garcia, which I will be keeping a close eye on. Anthony Crolla had a great win a couple of weeks back against Burns. A lot of the British public are calling for that fight," stated lightweight contender Luke Campbell, who talked about his recent performance against Jorge Linares, his future plans, and much more. Check it out!
PC: First and foremost, condolences from the FightHype family on the passing of your father, Bernard. He passed away just weeks before your world title fight against Jorge Linares. Were there any thoughts ever of pulling out of the fight and rescheduling?
LC: Thank you. Yeah, it was very tough, especially with my camp being held in Miami and being out there on my own and all of my family being in Hull. My dad was my biggest supporter and believer and I just thought what he would have wanted me to do. Then I tried to put all my emotions in the back of my mind until after the fight, which is easier said than done.
PC: Any time you’re entering a situation with a heavy heart like that, it could play against you in the fact that you could have a difficult time getting up for the moment or be too emotional; or it could serve as a motivator. Judging from your performance, it was obviously a motivator to you as you showed tremendous heart in that fight.
LC: I would say a bit of both. It obviously had a massive impact on me mentally and emotionally. I was very close to my dad. I'd spend around an hour a day locked away to shed a few tears. However, I tried to focus myself to become a world champion and make him proud. I didn't quite get the decision, but I do think I made him proud that night. I felt like he was with me every step of the way.
PC: You were dealing with a lot after that 2nd round; not only the knockdown, but a cut. How were you able to keep your composure and rally on while having the doubled vision?
LC: It was a nice, clean shot that put me down in the 2nd round. That same shot caused the cut, however, I wasn't hurt by the punch. It gave me double vision for a few rounds, but the legs were strong, my mind was clear, so it was just a case of get up, dust off, and stick to the game plan we had worked on.
PC: No fighter wants to be put down, but being that you had been down before during your career, that has to help with understanding the situation, remaining calm, and just having the experience to keep things in perspective knowing that you now have to overcome a 10-8 round.
LC: I have been down a couple of times now, but I know my own body. I know I have a good chin. I have never been hurt by a punch in the sense that my mind has been scrambled or my legs go weak underneath me. So, like I said earlier, really it's just a case of getting up, composing myself, and sticking to the game plan. I knew plenty of rounds were left for the taking and we could win enough of them rounds to take the fight.
PC: It was a very close fight. Have you gone back and watched it, because I think Max [Kellerman] and Roy [Jones Jr.] may have did you some justice. I felt Jim Lampley didn’t give you a fair shake on the commentary side of things.
LC: I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. It's been a very busy period for me and my family and I have just moved houses on top of everything else. I rarely do watch my fights back until a few weeks have passed as I still feel emotionally attached to them. I like to watch my fights with no feelings so I can concentrate on what I did good and what I need to work on in the gym and analyze the fight. I've been told Max and Roy spoke highly of me, which is always nice, especially Roy Jones as he is an idol of mine. I'd spend hours watching his fights growing up studying him. I've had some great comments from the American fans. I'd love to fight there again!
PC: Was there anything about Jorge Linares that surprised you or was he as advertised and exactly who you thought he would be?
LC: No, nothing surprised me. We knew he was a really good fighter. We knew what his strengths were and worked on a plan accordingly.
PC: You’ve reached the pinnacle as an amateur, capturing Gold in 2012. You came up short for your first world title shot as a pro. What is the rebuilding process right now? What do you feel you have to do to be competing for a world title again?
LC: Even though I haven't watched it back, I still feel in my head I did enough to nick it out. I'm not complaining as it was a great, close fight and I was the away fighter against the champion on his show. However, I think I proved to the world that I'm at that level now, so I don't really see it as a rebuilding process. I would've liked the immediate rematch, but he has the agreement with Garcia, which I will be keeping a close eye on. Anthony Crolla had a great win a couple of weeks back against Burns. A lot of the British public are calling for that fight, which would be good. I think I'm due a little holiday; then I will sit down with Eddie and the team and see what's available.
PC: You have two split decision losses that were very close. In your mind, are you still an undefeated fighter?
LC: No. To be honest, I don't look too much into it. My first loss was lack of professional experience on my part as in I should have pulled myself out of that fight and I let myself down in going through with it. We tried to get the rematch for the Wembley show, but it couldn't be made. I thought I could have nicked the Linares fight, but it is what it is. We'll dust off and go again.
PC: You’re pretty tall for the lightweight division and you are a southpaw. Is there any fear after the Linares performance that it won’t be an easy task to secure opponents moving forward?
LC: That's not my job to worry about. My job is to train and fight and Eddie will take care of that side of things. The feedback I'm getting from my performance has all been good, so I don't think I have done myself any harm whatsoever. I think Crolla has openly said he would be happy to face me, which is good. I think that would make for an exciting fight for the British fans.
PC: Are you looking to have an early 2018 ring return or just somewhere in the first half of the year would suffice?
LC: I haven't even thought too much about that yet. I'd like to keep the momentum going. I'm never out the gym, so I don't want to be out for too long, but that's something we will sit down with the team and have talk about in the coming weeks.
PC: I appreciate your time. I look forward to seeing a lot more of you and you showed a ton of heart and skill in there against one of the very best. I wish you the best of luck moving forward. Is there anything else you would like to add before I let you go?
LC: Thank you! I'd just like to add a thank you to the boxing fans around the world for all their messages of support for the fight and my personal loss. I have had messages from boxing fans from all over the world and it means a lot to me. Hopefully I can continue to make people proud.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]