ON PAPER, tonight’s card at the O2 in London offers up some truly scintillating contests, spearheaded by the exciting prospect of being treated to another display of genius by arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today, Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko.

“Loma” has Britain’s Luke Campbell to contend with as he defends his WBA and WBO lightweight titles, with the vacant WBC belt also up for grabs.

No pressure then for Campbell, who despite being a former Olympic gold medal winner who’s previously challenged unsuccessfully for a world title, and who brings to the ring a professional record of 20 wins in 22 fights with two losses and no draws, tonight faces the most daunting challenge of his career. 

Though Loma will rightly step into the ring as heavy favourite, Campbell and his camp, headed by trainer Shane McGuigan, have been talking up the prospect of an upset, citing Anthony Joshua’s defeat to Andy Ruiz Jnr at Madison Square Garden on June 1 as the proof that in a boxing ring the seemingly impossible is attainable.

While there is no denying the logic in this particular argument, even if Campbell was tonight entering behind a thousand bayonets, it would still only be slightly more convincing. Having said that, it is perfectly conceivable that with his power he can make a better fist of things (pun intended) than Manchester’s Anthony Crolla did against the Ukrainian southpaw back in April.

This is no reflection on the lack of ability possessed by either Crolla or Campbell, it should be stressed. On the contrary, they are both talented operators with notable records. 

Instead it is a reflection of the reality confounded by this insanely talented Ukrainian three-weight world champion in fight after fight. The way he glides and switches angles as quickly and efficiently as a shark under water honing in on its prey is staggering to watch, as is his speed and timing. 

In boxing one punch can change everything, of course, but assuming that this one punch evades Campbell, at 31 it’s crucial that he does enough to convince those who matter – specifically promoter Eddie Hearn and Sky TV  – that he remains a viable draw for future money fights at the top of the division.

The undercard, meanwhile, includes an intriguing heavyweight clash between Britain’s Hughie Fury and Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin. 

At 39 the pitiless laws of nature would suggest that the Russian’s best years are past. But despite being knocked out by Anthony Joshua at Wembley last September, Povetkin remains a supremely talented athlete who knows his way around a ring.  

Indeed his movement and feet, and when in shape the ability to punch in combinations, may well pose his much younger opponent more than a few problems. And this despite the considerable height difference between them in Fury’s favour.

That said, Fury, whose pro career has up to now unfolded in the shadow of his famous cousin Tyson’s, is in shape and hungry to establish his own legacy of success. 

The 24-year-old and his trainer, dad Peter, believe that victory tonight will catapult them back into title contention, after the first attempt at a clinching a world title was unsuccessful against New Zealand’s Joseph Parker in 2017.

For me this is a pick em fight, upon which much will depend on the kind of shape Povetkin shows up in. 

If the Russian has put in a proper training camp and arrived in London with victory rather than a pay day on his mind, then despite the age difference, and going by Fury’s last fight against Samuel Peters, which he won by TKO, I can see Povetkin getting his hand raised. 

On the same card, we also have Joshua Buatsi facing off against Ryan Ford in a domestic contest at light heavyweight for a WBA International title. 

Undefeated in 11 pro fights, Buatsi, originally from Ghana and now of Croydon, is being talked up as a future world champion – or at least he is by his promoter Eddie Hearn, who upon signing him in 2017 touted him as the pick of the boxing crop at the Rio Olympics, in which Buatsi took a bronze in the 175lb division.

Also on the undercard are Joe Corinda, Martin J Ward and Charlie Edwards, three crowd pleasers that will no doubt relish the opportunity for exposure on such a big stage.

Anthony Yarde’s loss against Kovalev earns him acclaim
Speaking of British light heavyweight prospects, Anthony Yarde’s gutsy performance against Russia’s fearsome Sergey Kovalev in Moscow last week was the stuff of comic books.

Here we had a fighter with no significant names on a record of 18 fights with no defeats, and prior to that just 12 amateur fights, boldly heading into the backyard of the current WBO world champion and former WBA and IBF champion, a man with the power to KO your average brick wall, and coming within seconds of stopping him.

Indeed, the eighth round of a fight in which Yarde had lost every round up to that point was one of the most exciting and pulsating you’ll likely ever see unfold. From who knows where, the Londoner produced the kind of sustained firepower compatible with kryptonite as he doled out three minutes of hell that the Russian will likely not soon forget. 

Unfortunately for him though, Kovalev managed to weather the storm and proceeded to reassert his dominance in the succeeding rounds on the back of a second wind, until concluding the issue in the 11th by TKO. 

Touchingly, afterwards both Kovalev and his trainer, Buddy McGirt, made a point of paying tribute to Yarde’s courage and performance; the two of them predicting that future title honours await.

I, for one, agree.