Tag Archives: Gabriel Campillo
PBC on CBS Results: Stevenson Cruises to UD Win Over Bika; Bieterbiev Annihilates Campillo
by Johnny Walker
This afternoon at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada, Quebec-based fighters ruled the day as lineal light-heavyweight champion Adonis “Superman” Stevenson cruised to a win over tough veteran Sakio Bika, while the most impressive performance was delivered by rapidly rising star Artur Bieterbiev, who showed supreme ring acumen and frightening power in disposing of challenger Gabriel Campillo via a crushing knockout.
In the first televised bout as CBS got back into the boxing game on Saturday afternoons, Artur Bieterbiev of Russia, now based in Montreal, made it clear why light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, who has been squabbling with the Bieterbiev camp for the last few weeks in increasingly nasty back-and-forth exchanges, sees his Russian rival as such a threat.
Quite frankly, Bieterbiev (8-0, 8 KOs) looks ready to challenge anybody in the light-heavyweight division right now.
He dominated Campillo (25-7-1, 12 KOs) from the opening bell, dropping the challenger in round one via a sweeping right hand power shot. Campillo survived though veteran skill and savvy, but it was already clear that it was just a matter of time.
Astutely, after seeing that a head shot didn’t do in his opponent immediately, Bieterbiev then spent rounds two and three pounding the body of Campillo as if the latter were a heavy bag in the gym. Even the thudding sound of his shots hurt to listen to, so one can imagine being on the end of them. Campillo’s strength was rapidly ebbing as round three came to a close, Bieterbiev landing a big right hand that sent the wincing opponent to his corner. Campillo was clearly just about done.
Bieterbiev smelled blood and came out in round four determined to close the show. After a few more brutal body shots that brought Campillo’s hands down, the Russian went upstairs for a vicious right hand that knocked his opponent senseless, followed by a left that a sporting Bieterbiev appeared to partly pull as he merely turned away, his opponent’s body slumping toward the mat.
Artur Bieterbiev was declared winner by knockout at 2:23 of round four.
“I’m very happy to be on the big stage on CBS at such an early point in my professional career. This all came together very quickly and I hope to be back soon,” said the impressive Bieterbiev.
“We’re planning to fight again in May and I’ll leave whoever my opponent will be in God’s hands.”
Then came time for hometown Haitian-Canadian hero Adonis “Superman” Stevenson to make his appearance against veteran Sakio Bika.
To no one’s surprise, the always tough and awkward Bika put up a decent challenge for the champion, who is actually two years older than Bika.
But the pupil of the late Emanuel Steward and product of Kronk Gym in Detroit mostly has it his own way for the 12 round affair.
Stevenson (26-1, 21 KOs) had hoped to be the first man to knock Bika (32-7-3, 21 KOs) out, but had to settle for knocking him down twice, once albeit more a slip than a knockdown.
After an even opening round, Stevenson gradually managed to warm-up and staggered Bika with a patented left hand power shot in round two. Bika rallied in round three, landing some solid left jabs and a hard right, these perhaps nullified by a wicked left hand scored by “Superman” at the bell to end the round.
Stevenson was in his comfort zone by round four, landing huge left hands for fun and totally outclassing the game Bika.
In round five, Bika was clearly shaken by a left hand and went to the mat in what was called a slip. He was soon hurt again and Stevenson was enjoying himself enough to do some Ali-style clowning with a “bolo-punch” wind-up at the round’s end. The next round played out much the same way, with Bika attempting to rally, only to be cut short by another hard left from Adonis, in which Bika hit the mat in another “slip.” After scoring with some huge body shots, a confident Stevenson then did his version of the “Ali-shuffle” to entertain the fans.
Stevenson took a round off in stanza seven, and Bika did his best to take advantage of that occurrence, scoring with nice right hook and doing enough to perhaps win a round.
Bika tried to keep that momentum in round eight, trading some hard left hand shots with Stevenson, and again, maybe stealing a round from the champ.
Stevenson got his second wind in round nine. After landing some nifty combinations, “Superman” softened Bika up with a massive shot to the body, bringing the latter’s hands down just in time for a short hard left to connect with his chin, and Bika was now on the mat with a legitmate knockdown.
Round 10 saw Stevenson with visions of being the first man to stop the rugged Bika dancing in his head, and he scored at will with combinations and huge left hands, but Bika hung in there, as is his trademark, and even staged a mini-comeback in round 11, scoring with a big left-right combo of his own.
Round 12 was an entertaining exercise in machismo, as after a period spent mugging each other on the ropes, Stevenson basically offered up his supposedly fragile chin for Bika to smack, and proved that even a solid connect by his opponent only brought laughter from the champ. Both men than engaged in some gunslinger antics, egging each other on in toughman contest style. After absorbing a big right hand from Bika, a bemused Stevenson offered up another version of the “Ali Shuffle” (the “Superman Shuffle”?) to end the fight.
The scores were a bit closer than might have been anticipated in the champion’s home province: 115-111, 116-110, and 115-110, all for the winner, Adonis Stevenson.
“He’s a tough fighter,” “Superman” said of Bika after the match. “I dropped him, but he’s a tough competitor.
“Being involved with Premier Boxing Champions and fighting on CBS has been a great experience. This is fantastic for boxing and we’re hoping more and more kids will start getting involved in the sport.
“As far as what’s next, I’ll wait and see what Al (Haymon) has for me. I’ll be ready to go again by June or July.”
Stevenson also thanked his late Hall of Fame trainer, Emanuel Steward, following his victory.
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PBC on CBS Boxing Preview: Adonis Stevenson vs Sakio Bika, Artur Beterbiev vs Gabriel Campillo
By: William Holmes
Boxing returns to network television on Saturday afternoon as Adonis “Superman” Stevenson defends his WBC Light Heavyweight title against the always dangerous Sakio Bika in Quebec City, Canada.
Stevenson is considered by many to be one of the top two light heavyweights along with his rival Sergey Kovalev and most boxing fans are hoping that fight can be made if Stevenson can defeat Bika. However, another light heavyweight contender in Artur Beterbiev will look to throw his name into the light heavyweight mix as he takes on Gabriel Campillo in an IBF Light Heavyweight eliminator.
The following is a preview of both televised bouts:
Artur Beterbiev (7-0) vs. Gabriel Campillo (25-6-1); IBF Light Heavyweight Eliminator
Artur Beterbiev is a young undefeated prospect with a very high ceiling and a very successful amateur career. He represented Russia in the 2008 Olmypics, and won the gold medal in the 2009 World Amateur Championships as a light heavyweight.
All seven of Beterbiev’s opponents have lost to him by stoppage and nobody that he has ever faced has managed to make it past the fourth round.
Campillo is best known for two fights in which he officially lost but most observers felt he won. He was on the wrong end of a controversial decision at least twice, to former light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud and to Beibut Shumenov.
Beterbiev is six years younger than Campillo at thirty years old, but he will be giving up about three inches in height and about three inches in reach. Beterbiev has a knockout ration of 100% at this point in his young career, while Campillo has only stopped twelve of his opponents out of twenty-five bouts.
Despite the fact he has only fought as a professional for less than two years, Beterbiev has been tested inside the ring both as an amateur and as a professional. In addition to his amateur accomplishments, he has already stopped former champion Cloud in the second round and also stopped the then undefeated Jeff Page Jr. in the second round.
Campillo lost some questionable decisions, but he has also lost to some notable competition. His losses have come against Andrzej Fonfara, Sergey Kovalev, Tavoris Cloud, Karo Murat, Beibut Shumenov. His most notable wins have come against Thomas Williams Jr. and Beibut Shumenov.
Beterbiev has a very high level ceiling and is currently in negotiations to be represented by Al Haymon. Beterbiev is a talent and this writer expects him to win convincingly and impressively on Saturday night, putting himself in a position for a legitimate world title shot before his tenth professional fight.
Adonis Stevenson (25-1) vs. Sakio Bika (32-6-3); WBC Light Heavyweight Title
If you just look at their ages you would be surprised that Stevenson and Bika are fighting as the main event on network television. Stevenson is thirty-seven and Bika is thirty-five going on thirty-six. Both, at a glance, would appear to be clearly past their prime.
However, both boxers have not shown much of a decline in recent fights and are considered by most to be amongst the best in the light heavyweight division.
Stevenson started boxing late in comparison to most other professional boxers, and won the Canadian national amateur title twice. Bika was a member of the 2000 Cameroonian Olympic Team, but did not medal in the Olympics.
Stevenson and Bika are close in age and in height, but Stevenson has an imposing six inch reach advantage over Bika. Additionally, Bika started off his career as a junior middleweight and is naturally the smaller man.
Stevenson’s southpaw style gives most of his opponents problems and he has shown that he has incredible knockout power. Stevenson has stopped twenty one of his opponents, including four of his past five wins. Bika has also stopped twenty one of his opponents, but he has had more fights and only has one stoppage victory in his past five fights.
Stevenson’s lone loss came against the always tricky Darnell Boone in 2010, a loss he later avenged with a sixth round knockout. He has also defeated the likes of Aaron Pryor Jr., Chad Dawson, Tavoris Cloud, Tony Bellew, Andrzej Fonfara, and Dmitry Sukhotsky.
Bika’s most famous accomplishment was winning The Contender in 2007. He has also defeated the likes of Marco Periban, Nikola Sjekloca, Dyah Davis, Peter Manfredo Jr., and Sam Soliman. Bika does have six losses and they have come against top notch competition such as Lucian Bute, Andre Ward, Jean-Paul Mendy, and Anthony Dirrell.
Bika will make this a tough and rough fight for Stevenson, but he usually struggles against slick and talented boxers. Bika has a sturdy chin and has never been stopped in his career, so it’s likely he’ll go the distance on Saturday, but unlikely he’ll be able to beat the current WBC Light Heavyweight Champion.
Stevenson should win on Saturday against the smaller opponent and will hopefully give fans the fight they’ve been clamoring for, a light heavyweight unification bout against Sergey Kovalev.
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Gabriel Campillo: “We won against Tavoris Cloud, and it was so clear…”
By Hans Olson
Back on February 18, Spain’s Gabriel Campillo turned in a performance of a lifetime against the undefeated Tavoris Cloud.
Unfortunately for Campillo, painfully inept judging by David Robertson and Joel Elizondo prevented him from becoming the new IBF Light Heavyweight Champion. While Elizondo’s card of 114-112 was bad enough, Robertson’s 116-110 card was downright laughable.
Only judge Dennis Nelson got it right, scoring the contest for Campillo 115-111.
Even with the split-decision loss, Campillo holds his head high, with his stock rising considerably.
Boxing Insider caught up Gabriel Campillo this week to discuss the fight and much more. Check it out!
Boxing Insider: First off, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Gabriel! Can you tell me how you’re feeling now with time having passed since the fight with Cloud?
Gabriel Campillo: “Hello! It’s a pleasure for me to have the opportunity of expressing myself and share with the boxing fans my opinions and thoughts. I feel so happy for how the fight was developed, I think we did very good work physically, technically and strategically. It could be said that the whole world has watched it, and so I am considered as one of the strongest at Light Heavyweight. So the outcome for me? It is positive.
Boxing Insider: What are your overall feelings of the fight?
Gabriel Campillo: “I think we won the fight easily, maybe 115-111. There is no doubt that we lost the first round 10-7, but from then on we won almost all the following [rounds], with the exception of one or two maybe. We won, and it was so clear. Not close. So the fight was so easy to mark, really. It was definitely a horrible decision, the one given by the judges.”
Boxing Insider: Can you take me back to the first round? What happened with the knockdowns?
Gabriel Campillo: “I started as I usually do: to move, trying to study the rival in the first round, checking his speed and punch. Everything was going well, but suddenly he just surprised me with a good right-hand and I just fell. When I hit the floor, I realized that I could get up without any problems, and this is what I did. Later, I fell again, but it was because Cloud run over me—not because of the punching. This round was completely lost, so I just tried to move, recover and then fight as we had planned.”
Boxing Insider: After that first round, you dominated every second of every round. How did that happen? What did you do to adjust?
Gabriel Campillo: “I just started the second round with the aim of doing the work I came to do, the work I had been working on for so many months. When somebody is so prepared as I was for that fight, you recover no matter the problem. So, I started following the plan of my trainer Pablo Sarmiento: using mobility, speed, punching and moving side-to-side, not offering myself as a target. This turned me into a shadow—a shadow that could not be touched by a so technically limited boxer as Cloud—and we knew this would happen.”
Boxing Insider: What are your thoughts on Cloud as a fighter?
Gabriel Campillo: “Cloud is a good boxer, he is extremely hard and strong, so you must be very careful with his punching. On the other hand, he has some lack of defense, and technically, he has a limit.”
Boxing Insider: I’m sure you want a rematch. Do you think you will get one?
Gabriel Campillo: “The only reason I would like a rematch to happen is because I think it is the only way to get the title. It is not a matter of pride, because I really do think that I have already shown the world that I am far better than Cloud. I am not sure if there will be a rematch, but it would be so nice to get the title, and to offer the Spanish fans—and also the American fans who have supported me—another great fight.
Boxing Insider: If you don’t get a rematch with Cloud, what will be next for you?
Gabriel Campillo: “Right now, I’m just thinking of resting. My manager Sergio Martinez, and my promoter Sampson Lewcowicz, have to decide which will be the next step for me.”
Boxing Insider: Thanks again Gabriel! If you have anything to say to the American fans, feel free to do so!
Gabriel Campillo: “I would like to say that it was a wonderful pleasure to fight in the States, they are an amazing public, and they know a lot about boxing. I really enjoyed fighting for them, and I would love to do it again if that opportunity is brought to me. I feel they liked my boxing. I love America!”
(Boxing Insider’s Hans Olson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @hansolson)
