Less than a mile separates the venues for Nick Campbell’s first fight in Glasgow and his second but the settings and the occasions could hardly be more different.
Fourteen months ago the 33 year-old was one of the main support acts on the bill of Josh Taylor’s world title fight against Josh Catterall at the Hydro, with Campbell stopping Jay McFarlane to claim the Scottish heavyweight belt.
If that was a spectacle that attracted eyes from all around the world then it will be more low-key this evening when the self-styled Glasgow Warrior returns to his hometown for his seventh professional fight.
The venue this time is the Glasgow Boxing Academy just across the Clyde from the Hydro in Govan as Campbell looks to rebound from his first career defeat as one of the star attractions of Boxing Social’s Fight Night Live, set to be broadcast on Fite TV.
That loss to Steve Robinson in December has precipitated a number of changes for the Jersey-based boxer including a new management team and a new trainer in Billy Nelson as well as a parting of the ways with promoter BOXXER, and with it having his bouts shown on Sky Sports.
Campbell, though, is just as enthusiastic about this latest challenge as he was about boxing at the Hydro and humble enough to admit that he will need to earn the right to be a part of those more high-profile occasions in future.
“It’s my second fight back in Glasgow and it’s been hard getting enough tickets for all the folk that want to come and watch me,” he says. “I’m lucky to have friends and family coming to see me in action and I’m just looking forward to getting back in the ring.
“The boxing academy is next to the Big Feed in Govan so it’s a good venue. Of course, it’s different to the Hydro but I need to earn the right to be back on that stage again. This is part of that.
“I think it will be a great atmosphere with a 700-800 crowd so I’m really looking forward to experiencing that. You know what Glasgow fight fans are like so it should be a good one.”
There are regrets, naturally, about being stopped by Robinson but Campbell sees it as a blip rather than a substantial backwards step in the bigger picture.
“It’s heavyweight boxing,” he adds. “At the end of the day, somebody’s got to win and somebody’s got to lose. I feel as if I was in control of the fight and winning it quite comfortably. And then I just got caught with a stupid shot in the fourth round.
“I felt the ref was a bit premature when he stopped it but it was my own fault for getting caught. Who knows what would have happened if I’d got that rest at the end of the round and got back out in the fifth? But it’s all hypothetical now. It is what it is. And you learn more from your defeats than your wins.
“I’m trying to learn from it, become a better fighter and move on. That’s all there is to it. It’s a fight that I felt I was winning so if there was an opportunity for a rematch then I would take it 100 percent. But fair play to Steve. He took a few punches himself and then managed to get the shot off.”
Pairing up with Nelson at his gym in Greengairs has allowed Campbell to make a few minor tweaks to his boxing style that he hopes to showcase in the ring this evening.
“I’ve not had to make massive changes but that last fight made me aware there are a few fundamentals that I need to be hotter on,” he adds. “That’s why I came to Billy so he can drill the basics into me so I can execute them extremely well.
“I’m a big strong physical man so if I can use that to my advantage and use my attributes the way I want to – underpinned by all the fundamentals – then I think I’ll be a hard man to beat.”
With Nelson a confirmed Rangers man and Campbell a lifelong Celtic supporter, it has created an interesting dynamic around recent Old Firm encounters.
“I was laughing as I think Billy is the only Rangers supporter in the gym! Everyone else is a Celtic fan. So the banter’s good. And that makes training that bit easier. It’s good fun coming in and having that banter. Nothing is taken to heart. Everyone is happy to have the p*** taken out of them!”
