Luke Campbell called it a career Friday.
The lightweight contender announced through his social media accounts that he has retired from boxing. The 33-year-old Campbell’s retirement came almost seven months after Ryan Garcia stopped the British southpaw with a body shot in the seventh round of their fight for the WBC interim lightweight title January 2 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Campbell, of Hull, England, went 20-4, including 16 knockouts, during an eight-year pro career he launched after winning a gold medal in the bantamweight division at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Campbell explained that spending more time with his family was the primary reason he decided to walk away from the sport that has consumed his life since he was 13.
“The past year in boxing, though, has been tough,” Campbell wrote in a retirement announcement posted to his Twitter and Instagram accounts. “An extremely long training camp away from family meant I was only able to spend a few days with my newborn child and also resulted in me having Christmas apart from them on the other side of the world.
“It’s in these moments that you realize what is truly important in life. I’ve lived my dreams and accomplished more than I ever imagined I would. In the same way that my dad as able to witness my greatest achievements, I want to be able to do that for my children and make sure I’m always there to see their biggest triumphs.”
Campbell and his wife, Lynsey, have three sons.
The skillful Campbell fought for 135-pound world titles three times. He lost each of those fights to Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs), three-division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko (15-2, 11 KOs) and another three-division champ, Jorge Linares (47-6, 29 KOs).
Campbell came closest to beating Linares, who edged Campbell by split decision in their 12-round fight for Linares’ WBA world lightweight title in September 2017 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
France’s Yvan Mendy was the first fighter to beat Campbell, who lost a 12-round split decision to Mendy (46-5-1, 22 KOs, 1 NC) in December 2015 at O2 Arena in London. Campbell avenged that loss when he defeated Mendy by unanimous decision in their 12-round rematch in September 2018 at Wembley Stadium in London.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.