CAMPBELL AND SYKES CLASH IN THE BATTLE OF YORKSHIRE

Olympic star meets Dewsbury ace in Sheffield

Luke Campbell MBE and Gary Sykes will clash in an all-Yorkshire affair at the Sheffield Arena on March 26, live on Sky Sports.

Campbell is straight into a huge fight after tasting defeat for the first time in the paid ranks in December, and the Hull star will be looking to bounce back with a big win under new trainer Jorge Rubio.

Sykes will have other ideas though, and the Dewsbury man will be aiming to hand a second defeat to Campbell and move into title contention in the Lightweight division himself.

Campbell is in Miami training for the fight with Rubio and the 28 year old believes it’s vital to return to the fray in a big fight.

“I’ve made plenty of changes since the Mendy fight,” said Campbell. “I wanted to get straight back into action and I wasn’t interested in an eight or 10 round comeback fight, I wanted to get straight back into big fights and Gary is a fight I can really get my teeth into. Gary will have plenty of support and I’m expecting a tough fight and a great performance.”

Campbell’s clash with Sykes is part of a huge night of action in the Steel City as Sheffield favourite Kell Brook defends his IBF World Welterweight title against Canadian mandatory challenger Kevin Bizier.

Adam Etches is straight back into title action on the card, Sheffield Heavyweights Dave Allen and Richard Towers clash in a British title eliminator and Andy Townend meets Craig Poxton for the English Super-Featherweight title.

Tickets priced at £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 are on sale now from the Sheffield Arena on 0114 2565656 and at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk. VIP tickets priced at £250 are exclusively available from www.matchroomboxing.com.