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European Amateur Boxing Champion Luke Campbell has drawn Mexico’s Ray Vargas in the first round of the amateur World Championships which starts on September 13 in Milan, Italy.
Campbell, a two-time ABA titlist, was crowned Bantamweight Champion at the European Championships in Liverpool last November.
His path to glory was not an easy one, made even more impressive given this was Campbell’s European Championship debut.
In the quarterfinal, Campbell faced and defeated the Moldovan Olympic Bronze Medal winner, Veaceslav Gojan, before progressing to the final after an excellent 4-1 points victory over Germany’s Denis Makarov.
The quietly spoken 21 year old from Hull followed this with a magnificent defeat of highly experienced Bulgarian Detelin Dalakliev to secure the Bantamweight title, becoming the first British boxer to win a European Gold Medal in 47 years.
The last English boxer to win a European Gold Medal was Frankie Taylor, who won the Featherweight title at the Belgrade Games in Yugoslavia in June 1961. Also at the same event, Melbourne Olympic Champion, Scotland’s Dick McTaggart, won Gold in the Lightweight class.
After learning that Mexico’s Vargas was to be his first round opponent, Campbell said, “I don’t know anything about him. I’m sure he’s a top class fighter.
“This is my first World Championships and I understand it’s all about learning and helping me prepare for the 2012 Olympics, so I’m going to go out there, do my best, and enjoy every minute of it.”
Luke Campbell, along with fellow British team mates Tommy Stubbs, Khalid Yafai, Andrew Selby, Thomas Stalker, Scott Cardle and Steve Simmons will be competing at the World Championships in Milan, Italy, September 1-12, 2009.
