I nearly quit, says golden British boxer Campbell

Great Britain’s latest Olympic boxing champion Luke Campbell has revealed that he almost quit the sport due to disillusionment over the direction in which his career was heading.

The 24-year-old from Hull beat Ireland’s John Joe Nevin 14-11 on Saturday to become Britain’s first Olympic bantamweight champion since 1908.

He can now expect the deluge of media attention that has already descended upon the host nation’s previous gold medal-winners at these Games, but three years ago, things were very different.

Despite having won a gold medal at the European Championships in Liverpool in 2008, Campbell failed to qualify for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and he told reporters on Saturday that it had almost been the final straw.

“It was a very low point for me, 2009,” he said.

“I had the best year ever in 2008 but then the system changed and different coaches came in. The whole of 2009 was just a misery for me.

“At one point, I was looking to get out. I didn’t want to box anymore and I didn’t like the atmosphere.

“Then (Great Britain performance director) Rob McCracken came in, changed the system, and I felt comfortable with the coaches there.

“I’d been to the worst possible place in my career, so what else was I afraid of? After Rob took over, I had 23 unbeaten fights in a row, got myself here today, and it just got better and better.” Campbell says he began boxing “to better myself”, but he had a tough start to his career, losing six of his first nine fights. Having now scaled the pinnacle of the sport, he expressed hope that his victory over Nevin would inspire team-mates Freddie Evans and Joshua Anthony in their finals on Sunday. “I’ll be here tomorrow (Sunday) cheering them on, hoping and wishing that they can get a gold medal as well,” he said. “This is a very close team. We train together, we live together, we travel the world together, and we all want each other to succeed.” Campbell’s triumph gave Britain’s boxers their second gold medal of the Games, after Nicola Adams became the first woman to win an Olympic boxing title by prevailing in the women’s flyweight final.

Britain’s overall gold medal tally stood at 28 on Saturday evening, but Campbell said he had being doing his best to avoid the euphoria in the Olympic Village.

LONDON Aug 11, 2012 AFP