Gary Sykes confident of handing Luke Campbell second defeat
Thursday 24 March 2016 19:27, UK
Gary Sykes believes he's capable of upsetting the odds on Saturday night by compounding Luke Campbell's recent defeat.
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Former British champion Sykes (28-4-KO6) challenges Olympic champion Campbell (12-1-KO10) for the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title in Sheffield on the undercard of Kell Brook v Kevin Bizier - live on Sky Sports.
But despite being seen by many as Campbell's stepping stone back towards confidence, Sykes said: "I don't like the gatekeeper tag. I don't think it reflects me or reflects what I am. I have too much balls to be a gatekeeper.
I beat Tommy Coyle, I beat world champion Anthony Crolla, and I thought I was unlucky against world champion Terry Flanagan.
"When I boxed Liam Walsh I was dead at the weight and in the first round he put me down and I went through 12 hard rounds. I could have just stayed down but I put myself through hell.
"I am under no illusions that they see me as a gatekeeper, but that isn't what they are going to get out of me. I am not there to make the numbers up and they'll get the best of me that is possible.
"I thrive off being the underdog though. There is no pressure on me but there is pressure on Luke because he lost his last fight and has been over in Miami. His legs might get a bit tired in that fight with all the pressure on his shoulders.
"I stayed down at super-featherweight for too long. Before I was British super-featherweight champion I had been in Prizefighter at lightweight.
"I beat Tommy Coyle, I beat world champion Anthony Crolla, and I thought I was unlucky against world champion Terry Flanagan, and that was all when I was super-featherweight, and I was beating lightweights.
"Now I'm going to be a fully-fledged lightweight and I'm excited to see what it can bring."
Campbell tasted his first professional defeat in December when he was surprisingly outpointed by France's Yvan Mendy at The O2.
