Luke Campbell Retires

[a force]

A bit gutted for him that he never won a world title. I think he would’ve won the Linares fight if it wasn’t for the death of his dad just before the fight.

He looked completely out of sorts in the first couple of rounds before working his way back into the fight & on my card clean sweeping the second half of the fight.

Maybe Hearn could have backed him more & got him the Crolla world title fight & other domestic fights but he did have to pull out & postpone fights due to his dads cancer battle. I think his dad kept fighting back when he’d been told he’d not got long left.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[JamesPhilips]

did Campbell ever fight Tommy Coyle or am I tripping? (Too tired and sleepy to Boxrec it. :-)

[margaret thatcher]

ya he won every round then stopped him late, looked like a million pounds at the time

[skanksta]

Great decision.

Must be hard to be to accept that "not quite good enough to win a world title" thing, especially for such a fierce competitor - but he has - he seemed happy in himself. He's made good money, had some great nights and he retires with all his marbles.
And an Olympic Gold !

Congratulations Campbell.

[rio]

Elite amateur but ultimately he just wasn't that good as a pro. Lacked the grit and toughness when he was really up against it as world level. Always questioned weather he was really dedicated. The Garcia fight summed up why he wasn't world class and Garcia was. Garcia overcame adversity when getting dropped, he kept calm and came out firing. When it was Campbell turn he just didn't have it in him (Was expecting a Darren Barker like gut check)

[Dioufy]

Good career. Shame about the world title but a good performance against Garcia to go out with.

[Wales]

Baffled me why at 26 years old and after winning gold at 123lbs he turned pro at 135lbs. Jumping 4 weight divisions

Only he can say if he’s disappointed or happy with his pro career

[KiwiRider]

I was so sure he would be a pro champ. Been a fan for ages. Carried himself well and I found his style great to watch.
Sad that at the end of his career he doesn't have a British to keep.
He definitely could have achieved that.

[THEBUTCH]

Excellent career both amateur and professional.

Mixed in good company and was probably better than some who have claimed a version of a world title, Luke just came up against excellent world champions.

Hope he enjoys his retirement from boxing.

[Coco]

Has he earned retirement money?

[bigjack]

Must be hard to accept he didn't pick up a world title when you look at the much less skilled fighters who did,albeit trinket titles most of the time.

[THEBUTCH]

He mentioned something about opening some gyms. Suggests he has made money.

I'm guessing Campbell would have earned well from the fights against Linares and Garcia.

[mickey1975]

Has he earned retirement money?

He has a very nice house and cars. High end gym.... He's done very well.

[milpool]

Has he earned retirement money?

I suspect he’s earned enough money to live very comfortably in Hull.

[maverick23]

He mentioned something about opening some gyms. Suggests he has made money.

I'm guessing Campbell would have earned well from the fights against Linares and Garcia.

Plus the PPV with Loma. He’ll be set for life.

[margaret thatcher]

retire, open a gym, do some punditry, do some community work = live the good life, still with a bit of local celebrity if he's into that thing

[3132DW]

Has he earned retirement money?

He has a very nice house and cars. High end gym.... He's done very well.

Think he has few gyms and properties - Hearn said he’ll get with rest of his life with business/property and do well.

[margaret thatcher]

seems like all these boxers are rich off property

[mickey1975]

seems like all these boxers are rich off property

You can buy cheap in Hull.

[mickey1975]

His OK! Retirement announcement article should have paid well.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Olympian Luke Campbell says he retired from boxing so he didn’t end up in rehab or ‘taking drugs’

The spotlight at this year's Olympics in Tokyo has been on the importance of mental health as well as winning gold, especially after the decision by Team USA gymnast Simone Biles to remove herself from some of her events due to a mental block.

Now Olympic star Luke Campbell has opened up to OK! to talk about his own conflicts as a sports star who won gold at London 2012 and became the first British boxer to win in his weight division since 1908.

While he says “there's nothing like” winning gold, the boxer has recently made the difficult decision to retire.

Telling us about what motivated him to step out of the ring, Luke said he knew he needed to leave the sport before he began to “suffer mentally” like some fighters who have carried on.

He says: “I’d been planning my exit from boxing for the last 15 years. From a young lad I’ve known there are a hell of a lot of fighters who get wrapped up in boxing and continue way longer than they should and they suffer mentally once they finish.

"I’ve always said to myself: 'You can’t be one of those guys who needs to go to rehab because they’ve stopped boxing and started drinking or taking drugs or mentally going down a bad route.' Now I can concentrate on my family.”

Speaking about making such a big decision, he continues: “I’m feeling good about it now, but I’ve had my fair share of being upset and going to bed crying about it.

"It’s something I’ve done for the last 22 years and it’s who I am, but I’m loving being at home with my family and being able to take the boys to football and golf.

"I’ve missed out on so many moments up until now and I couldn’t tell you the last time I was home during the summer," Luke continued. "[My wife] Lynsey is enjoying having me home… sometimes!”

Now the 33-year-old is enjoying being with his young family; his model wife Lynsey, and their three sons Leo, 11, Lincoln, eight, and Levi, 10 months.

Spending more time with his loved ones was a big driving force behind the decision.

“It was the sole reason,” says Luke. “I felt like I was wasting time on training camps that could have been spent with my family. I’m at the age now where I was feeling lonely when I was away because I wasn’t with Lynsey and the kids.

"I was missing out on the kids growing up all the time. Covid has just made my career come to an end a year or two early. I missed two major fights for world titles last year due to Covid, which was a shame but I’ve made peace with it now.”

The family invited OK! into their gorgeous six-bedroom home, complete with a hot tub and an extravagant curved glass staircase. Talking about his Olympic glory, he said being awarded an MBE by Her Majesty the Queen in 2012 was the “icing on the cake”.

Lynsey also reflected on seeing her husband step onto the podium at London 2012, describing the dat as "quite surreal".

Luke adds: “I’ll never forget being on the podium with my gold medal and crying and laughing at the same time. I was so confused and thinking, 'Why am I crying when I’m so happy?'.

"There’s nothing like it. Winning gold at London 2012 was definitely my career highlight.”

[Loftgroov]

Decent career, but I never really took to him. I think it was that amateur 'fencing' style he had.... I just always found him dull.

[peter barlow]

Like many others he spent too long in amateurs. The turnover is happening too late for many. He done well financially so good luck to him.

[THEBUTCH]

I heard Luke is a candidate for Mayor of Hull.