Andres Campos: Sunny Edwards is good but not good enough
On Saturday, unbeaten Andres Campos will challenge for the IBF flyweight title against Sunny Edwards at Wembley Arena, London.
Campos, who will be making a big step up in competition, welcomes the opportunity to gatecrash the world scene against arguably the premier flyweight in the world.
“I respect Edwards a lot; he is the champion. He is good but not good enough,” Campos (15-0, 4 knockouts) told The Ring. “We check all his movements, all errors, every detail in his fights and we can see a lot of bad habits and leaks! He makes some movements, not good at all, but the people think it is OK. I want to [do my] talk[ing] over the ring, of course.
“I know how to shorten the ring; no one has done it like I will. The rhythm and speed that I will impose will be key.”
Clearly the 26-year-old Chilean enters the ring in a confident mood. He intends to become his country’s first ever male world titlist.
Andres Campos. Photo credit: Bruno Drundridge/Dragon Fire Boxing
“The fact that Chile does not have world champions motivates me even more to be able to open the doors to future generations,” Campos explained. “The day I started, I knew I was going to make history and I’m just days away from doing it. My hard work, effort and dedication, adding to the entire team and preparations, will bear fruit and I am 100-percent sure that I will be the first Chilean to be world champion.”
Campos, who began his training camp at home before going to Mendoza, Argentina, to get away from any distractions, as well as better sparring, remains unperturbed about the prospect of having to do so on the road.
“I don’t feel any pressure at all,” said Campos, who arrived in the UK on June 1. “I am used to feeling the support of the people and I have already won abroad. I am the son of rigor and effort and, believe me, that this is not pressure for me compared to what I have had to live in my life. There are two things I’ve never had: Fear and money.”
His manager Tony Tolj, noted handler of WBO bantamweight titlist Jason Moloney and his twin brother Andrew, appreciates that beating Edwards will be tough but knows, at the highest level, it’s always going to difficult.
“Sunny Edwards, in my opinion, is currently the best flyweight champion,” said Tolj. “It won’t be an easy fight but to be the man, you have to beat the man.
“We will have Andres prepared as best as possible for the fight of his life.”
Sunny Edwards (right) vs. Felix Alvarado. Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Edwards (19-0, 4 KOs), The Ring’s No. 1 rated flyweight, was a good amateur, winning titles domestically before turning professional in 2016. The quick-footed speedster made his way through the professional ranks, collecting various regional belts from the sanctioning bodies. He followed his older brother Charlie, who won a flyweight title, when he used his expert footwork and fast hands to shock IBF titlist Moruti Mthalane (UD 12). The 27-year-old has since made three successful title defenses, most notably edging past Felix Alvarado (UD 12).
Again, this is a huge step up for Campos. He’ll be away from home and has a perceived lack of knockout power that would certainly help his case on the road. He is a relatively unknown commodity and that makes him dangerous but will that be enough to pull what would be a huge upset remains to be seen.
Edwards-Campos will be broadcast on DAZN, beginning at 2 pm ET/11 am PT. and in the UK at 7 pm GMT.
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk and you can follow him on Twitter @AnsonWainwright.
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