Campbell was last seen losing via unanimous decision to Ukrainian star Vasyl Lomachenko.
There is no disgrace in losing out to the former three-weight world champion, who is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound active fighters, but a defeat to Garcia would push him further back in the queue for a title fight and time is no longer on the 33-year-old’s side.
Garcia Bids to Extend Unbeaten Record
While Campbell has suffered a few disappointing defeats, Garcia’s career is on an upward trajectory and he remains unbeaten ahead of Saturday’s showdown.
The Los Angeles-native may only be 22-years-old but he already boats 20 wins, 17 of which have come inside the distance, but Campbell does represent a step-up in class.
Garcia, who works with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s trainer Eddy Reynoso, is rated as the 5/19 favourite to come out on top as he seeks to set up his first world title chance.
The American has claimed a few big wins, including victories over Puerto Rican Jayson Velez and Romero Dunne, and he made a real statement in his last outing by stopping two-time IBF super featherweight challenger Francisco Fonseca in the first round.
Garcia is 33/1 to repeat that trick against Campbell with a round one win and he is 20/21 to win by KO/TKO or Disqualification.
The Case for Campbell
This fight is arguably bigger for Campbell than it is for Garcia. The American may have an unbeaten record to protect, but he is clearly a classy operator and with Golden Boy as promoters a defeat wouldn’t necessarily push his title aspirations back.
For Campbell, a loss would be a massive setback and, if he is to earn a third chance to claim a lightweight world title, he needs to pick up a win in Texas. Since stepping up to world level, the Hull-born star has only lost to top-class opposition, having lost via a split decision to Jorge Linares in 2017 for the WBA belt.
‘Cool Hand’ has never been stopped and that is encouraging for his backers ahead of his meeting with Garcia, who has proven to be somewhat of a knockout specialist in these early stages of his career, and if he can weather the early storm he stands a real chance of claiming a win.
Campbell is the more experienced of the two fighters having twice challenged for world titles, as well as claiming the bantamweight gold medal at the 2012 Olympics, and he may just be able to spring a surprise on Saturday.
Campbell is a 5/2 chance to secure a win, and if he does manage to come away with a victory his next fight could well be against reigning WBC world lightweight champion Devin Haney.
Campbell also boasts an impressive record in terms of stoppages with 16 of his 20 wins coming inside the distance and the Briton is 11/2 to win by KO/TKO or Disqualification.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
