Robberies Won’t Define Gabriel Campillo

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    This past February Gabriel Campillo was on the wrong end of a horrible decision. The scene of the crime was Texas, the culprits were the judges, the man given the wrong decision was Tavoris Cloud, and the victim of the robbery should have left Texas a world champion.

    However that wasn’t the first time Campillo was robbed of a world title. If double jeopardy ever applied to victims, Campillo’s name would stick out. In the year 2010, after beating Beibut Shumenov the year before, the two rematch and Campillo lost a decision most felt he should have won. Campillo was a guest on ThaBoxingVoice.com’s Radio show and explained his feelings on the matter. “No one is going to be able to rob me off my dream and goal to be a world champion.  It’s a very powerful blow to be robbed in a fight. It’s something a fighter from another country already has in his mind.  I never thought of quitting the sport, but I will work harder to get my title. It does frustrate me, but I know I have to be that much better next time out,” Campillo told ThaBoxingVoice.com through our interpreter.

    His next time out will be on September 21, 2012 on the NBC Sports Network. Campillo agrees that it should be him fighting Jean Pascal and getting a pay day instead of Cloud but in boxing you got to roll with the punches. “Things like that happen with Cloud getting the shot over me but I can only move forward and when a fight comes I have to take advantage of it,” said Campillo. He also knows he has to make his mark on U.S. television.  “It’s great opportunity to be in the U.S., it’s a very important fight and we want to take advantage of it. My opponent Sergey Kovalev’s is a great fighter and we’re preparing for him. We want to prepare ourselves first before we go in depth on him.”

    That preparation is going to come from a strong team that he trains with in Oxnard, California. From head trainer, Pablo Sarmiento, middleweight champion of the world and manager Sergio Martinez, promoter/advisor Sampson Lewkowicz, and other fighters like Javier Fortuna. He says, “We’re close in Oxnard, in this training camp, I haven’t sparred with Sergio, but we train side by side. It’s like we’re one big family.”

    Coming from Spain and working with Martinez’ head trainer has paid dividends. Some people have even said that he reminds them of Sergio when he fights. Campillo says, “I’ve always had that style in me, I just needed the right team and trainer to bring it out of me and Coach Sarmiento certainly has and has made me a better fighter because of it.”

    A big win on U.S. television would most likely lead to another TV date and certainly a world title shot. That’s his ultimate goal but he surely has certain guys on his radar after this win. “Obviously, I’d like to fight a legend like Bernard Hopkins. But a fight I want in terms of skill is Chad Dawson. I know he has a very tough fight with Andre Ward but I think he’s going to win, I just have a feeling. If he wins and wants to come back to our division, that’s a fight I would love.”

    for full audio of this interview click here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thaboxingvoiceradioshow/2012/08/02/gabriel-campillo-antonio-demarco-joel-diaz-jr