The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has affected boxers from all walks of life, from world champions having their title defenses canceled to amateurs no longer traveling to Tokyo for this summer’s Olympics.
One such boxer whose career has been put on hold is unbeaten Chilean prospect Andres Campos, a promising flyweight who was quickly climbing the rankings. Campos, sporting a 9-0 record, isn’t sure when he’s going to be fighting again, but with the pandemic canceling events left and right, he is taking the time to rest up and even work on his reading.
“I’m taking this as a bit of a recess because I’m a professional. I’m resting enough, remaining disciplined. I’m eating only what’s necessary and training twice a day because I’m still a complete athlete and I’m still working,” Campos told Fightful via translator when he recently appeared on the Fightful Boxing Podcast. “I’ve been watching videos of past fights and at the same time, I’ve been tackling at reading at the moment. I haven’t been a good reader so far, but I’m fighting and I’ll win too in this respect.”
Campos’ journey to this point hasn’t been an easy one. Growing up in Chile, a country that doesn’t have a rich boxing history, Campos had a troubled youth, only finding solace in the boxing gym. After finding success as an amateur, he knew he was destined for the pro ranks.
“When I was a kid, I was a troublemaker. I usually fought on the street. I then tried to go train in boxing [to get out of trouble] and in six months, I became a national champion. I had kind of a fast start. I always wanted more. I started to fight great boxers and after that, I told myself that I can get more titles [as an amateur] and give my fans and country those benefits of having a great boxer there,” Campos said.
Starting out as a pro was interesting enough for Campos. Shortly after making the move to the paid ranks, Campos made the journey to Australia, where he would go on to train with the likes of Andrew and Jason Moloney, both highly ranked at super flyweight and bantamweight, respectively.
“I was just starting my professional career, so when I went there and spent some time with the Moloney brothers and with my coach,” Campos said.
Less than two years after making his pro debut, Campos made the fast ascent through the 112-pound division. In just nine fights, Campos already captured national (Chilean National) and regional (WBA Fedebol and WBO Latino) titles and is already fighting in 10-round bouts. Describing himself as a boxer, Campos was quick to point out that he is both fast and intelligent in the ring, but also someone that is always listening to his corner for advice during fights.
His most recent fight saw him defeat Pedro Villegas by unanimous decision, adding the WBO Latino belt to his collection. Although Campos would like to soon move up and fight world-rated contenders and eventually the champions that stand atop the division. At flyweight, the current champions are Julio Cesar Martinez (WBC champion), Artem Dalakian (WBA) and Moruti Mthalane (IBF) and as much as Campos wants to become a champion, he understands that he will have to wait a while before getting his title shot.
“That was a very complicated fight because Villegas is a southpaw and that was not easy for me to contend with. In the end, I was about to knock him out, but I was very happy with the end result,” Campos said. “I would like to fight all three champions, but I have to be prudent and understand that I have to go step by step. Perhaps it’s not my moment to fight any one of those three. The moment will come, little by little and timely.”
Campos’ interview with Fightful can be seen in the video at the top of the page.
