In September of this year, unified Lightweight champion Nate Campbell and his entire team were in disbelief as they stood inside the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Just hours earlier, Campbell’s ‘opponent’ Joan Guzman had weighed an astonishing 3 ½ pounds over the scheduled Lightweight limit, thus placing the highly anticipated September 13th Campbell-Guzman bout in serious jeopardy. Despite having previously campaigned as low as 122 pounds, Guzman’s inability to make the Lightweight limit was shocking and came with much criticism from all parties associated with the bout.
The following day, which was to be the night of the fight, was filled with questionable actions from Guzman and his team. Campbell had already stated he would go ahead with the bout and the ball was completely in Guzman’s court. Guzman and his team, however, acted completely unprofessionally by leading Campbell on stating that needed just ‘a little more time’ to decide whether or not Guzman would be fit to enter the ring. Guzman’s people claimed they would have a verdict on their fighter by no later than noon but it wasn’t until later than night that Guzman’s manager Jose Nunez broke the news that he wasn’t going to allow his man to continue. The Campbell-Guzman bout was scrapped and Campbell lost not only his expected payday of $300,000 but also the remaining half of $200,000 signing bonus that Campbell had with promoter Don King.
Having come to training camp heavier than much of his previous camps, Campbell had to work extremely hard to get in shape for Guzman and the ending result was one that left the Lightweight kingpin feeling angry at Guzman and unfulfilled because he wasn’t able to do the thing he loves most: fight. Campbell would declare for bankruptcy less than a month later and has been dying to get in the ring ever since. Rumored opponents such as Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Diaz, and Marco Antonio Barrera are surfaced but at the end of the day Campbell ended up with a February 14th showdown with his IBF mandatory, Ali Funeka.
Ali Funeka isn’t a household name but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a dangerous opponent. Funeka sports a 30-1-2 record with the lone loss being a decision to Mzonke Fana in July of 2002. To anyone who hasn’t seen Funeka, it is highly recommended that they check out youtube footage of Funeka’s July 5th bout with Zahir Raheem. In that bout Funeka towered over Raheem and knocked down the Philadelphia native four times, with the final knockdown being both brutal and picturesque and he crushed Raheem with a huge right hand at the end of the 4th round, resulting in a stoppage win. Funeka isn’t famous but he is deceptively adapt on the defensive end and presents a huge hurdle for any fighter in the 135 pound class.
With an opponent like Funeka now in front of him, this fight depends solely on how motivated and serious Nate Campbell is for this bout. If Campbell is dismissive of Funeka then he could be in for a rude awakening, but if he trains like it is the fight of his life there is very good chance he can be successful on Valentine’s night.
When motivated, Campbell is an elite fighter and arguably the best Lightweight in the world. But that’s the key word here: motivation. Following such a disappoint debacle with Guzman, can Campbell regroup himself physically and mentally to go up against an opponent who is considered high risk and low reward? That is the essential question and on February 14th Nate Campbell will look to provide the answers.
To anyone interested in seeing clips of Ali Funeka against Zahir Raheem, please click the following link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6yurEr7jAw
> BOXING SCHEDULE > ROY JONES JR. TORNADO FUNDRAISER > FIGHT LIFE MAGAZINE 
