Coachella, California's Agua Caliente Casino will host the card on August 1. It's a homecoming for Bradley who built his reputation in Southern California club shows, a fact that has his promoter, Gary Shaw, on edge.
" I'm nervous about this fight and not just because of Nate Campbell," said the perpetually t-shirt clad promoter. "Fighters have a lot of extra pressure on them when they fight in in front of their home town crowds."
Bradley, 24-0 (11) claims that coming home isn't going to be an issue.
"On August 1st, I'm going to make Campbell's soup."
Nate Campbell Aging Warrior
Campbell, 33-5-1 (25) is fighting at a scheduled 140 pounds for the first time in his career, having lost the title when he couldn't make the 135 pound limit against Ali Funeka back in February. "I knew in training camp that it would be hard to make weight. I spent twelve hours in the sauna for that fight and still won," he said.
At 37, it's no wonder that Campbell's body betrayed him on the scales, but will it betray him in the ring? He doesn't think so. "I didn't even turn pro until I was 28. I had my first amateur fight at 25," said Campbell, implying that he hasn't suffered the wear and tear that is typical of fighters his age.
Mutual Respect
Since both men are fighters at heart, there promises to be plenty of action when the bell rings, but mutual respect is palpable when they are in the same room. Said Campbell of Bradley, "He's a good little fighter and he's going to be a great fighter some time after I beat him. But what I really respect about him is that even though he's young (25) he keeps his pants pulled up above his waist and keeps his shoes tied. He carries himself like a man"
"Nate didn't have to fight me in my back yard, but he agreed to the fight because he only wants to fight the best. We both want to fight the best," said Bradley
The matchup itself is interesting because both fighters understand that to win a fight, one must throw punches. That warrior's mentality may have made Bradley's victory of Kendall Holt a little tougher than it needed to be. A mistake he promises not to repeat.
Nate Campbell a Wiley Veteran
Campbell, on the other hand, doesn't count on punch volume to win fights, it's his long arms, mastery of angles, and thudding power that brings him success. Although, if he needs to press the action, he will, as he did against Juan Diaz.
Can Campbell keep old age away a little longer? Can Bradley stick to his game plan for twelve rounds of Campbell trying to fluster him?
It's a pick'em fight.
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