Luke Campbell made a winning start in to his campaign at the World Amateur Championships in Milan on Wednesday morning, as he was a 17-13 points winner over Rey Vargas of Mexico. But the European champion will not want many more tough bouts like one Vargas gave him if he is to challenge for the medals.
Campbell, the bantamweight, skirted with disqualification as he collected two public warnings and had to dig in during the final round to hold off the Mexican’s rally.
The 21-year-old from Hull became the first British boxer to win a European Championships gold medal since Frankie Taylor in 1961 in Liverpool in November, marking himself out as the finest home hope for the London Olympics in 2012.
The southpaw boxed well from the start, counter-punching as Vargas walked forward, picking the Mexican off and landing well with the left hand as he put early points on the board. At the end of the first round, Campbell held a comfortable 8-2 lead.
But Vargas battled back in the second round, forcing Campbell out of his comfort zone, so much so that the England boxer collected two public warnings - forfeiting four points in total - for holding, as the lead was cut to 14-10 at the end of round two.
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The lead was down to two points a minute into the last round, but Campbell showed composure, kept moving and picked off Vargas as he rode out the storm.
Andrew Selby, the Wales bantamweight, is also through to the second round after winning his first bout on a walkover.