BRC: Hello Nate, how are you doing?

 

CAMPBELL:  I've been better, man...

 

BRC: What's going on?

 

CAMPBELL:  Well, you know Robbie Peden is supposed to be fighting for the world title but he's not. So that means I'm going to have to wait....

 

BRC: Do you know how long?

 

CAMPBELL:  Okay, the buzz going around now is that  Morales is fighting Barrera.  Is that fight a done deal?

 

BRC: I'm not sure. Last I read it may not be...

 

CAMPBELL: Okay, why isn't it a done deal?

 

BRC: That I don't know. Do you know?

 

CAMPBELL: I don't know. Here's my problem with the whole situation... The IBF is telling me that they are sending out a purse bid for Peden vs Morales. What the hell are they even wasting their time for? That ain't going to pay no money compared to what Barrera vs Morales is gonna pay. So why would that even be a question? I think it's a waste of good IBF stationary. But that's not my call. My deal is they gave him until the seventh to start negotiations.

 

BRC: For the the Morales Peden fight? But they have Morales vs Barrera at the same time....

 

CAMPBELL: Yeah.... That's not legal is it?

 

BRC: Doesn't sound like it, but I really don't know...

 

CAMPBELL: I've never heard anything where you have two purse bids for fights at the one time. They haven't said anything about Barrera Morales... Why? It seems as though they are keeping it under wraps so they can maneuver around the IBF basically. Look I'm not asking anybody to give me nothing, I'm not asking the IBF to give me nothing. I'm just basically saying either make these two fights or make them vacate; that's all I'm saying. Make them fight or make them vacate. So I'm here waiting for the 21st or whatever the the deal I've been given. All I want to know is are you just telling me this or is something going to happen?

 Look  this is the title I've always wanted to win, the IBF. I've never asked anybody to give me anything along the way, nothing , not one thing. I haven't asked anyone to give me one thing. If you don't think I won a fight give the decision to the other guy. You get what I'm saying? And I've always said that because I want to earn every dime, every fight, every fight I have, I want to earn it. Because I don't want anybody to come to haunt me, saying, don't you think you owe us a little something? And I want to say, you didn't give me nothing, I earned it.  

Make Morales stand up and face his mandatory. I don't mind that, I don't mind waiting if I see something above me going on, you know what I'm saying. Peden is getting his shot, that's fine, he earned it. But if he's not then you're suppose to strip this guy (Erik Morales)  and that's what I'm saying. There needs to be some fighting or some stripping going on. Somebody needs to be getting naked to fight or get naked of a belt one of the two. That's all I'm getting at.

I don't want to make a misconception that I'm telling them how to run their business. I'm just going by the rules. You put up the rules that the IBF has set, it's all I'm going by. I didn't write these rules, I didn't make these rules, I had no vote on these rules. All I'm saying is the rules, the rules that the IBF has set up, the International Boxing Federation has set up. Then they come in with that exception crap, you need to pay 20 grand for an exception... If that don't sound bogus, what does? Tell me how that sounds to you?

 

BRC: I don't even know...

 

CAMPBELL: Come on now, me and you we're talking. How does that sound to you?

 

BRC: Sounds like bullshit...

 

CAMPBELL: Thank you! This guy (Erik Morales) doesn't want to defend against Peden because there ain't no money. But he wants to hold up all these other fighters so he can play paddy cake with Barrera again. Which the second fight wasn't that good at all. The second fight was a waste of f%@&ing money.

 

BRC: Do you feel that Barrera should even be given a shot right now since he's moving up in weight in a division he's never fought at?

 

CAMPBELL: NO! That's unfair. So what your telling me is that I can move up into another weight class and not fight an eliminator and I haven't been champion at 126 for the IBF... I've never done anything at 126 or 130 for the IBF, but I'm going to get a shot at the 130 pound title? I have a problem with that.

 

BRC: The whole fight is based on money. (Erik Morales Vs. Marco Antonio Barrera)

 

CAMPBELL: Oh yeah! Now when you made the statement it's based on money,  you ain't lying because 4% of what he makes would be way more than 50% of what I make. So I understand that, but just be honest enough to let me know that my career means nothing to you, because my 10% is smaller than his, that's all I'm saying. I believe in my heartest of harts that Barrera-Morales is 100% motivated by money on everybody's part. Because if this man can can come up from 122, he wasn't an IBF champion at 122, he wasn't the IBF champion at 126, he didn't fight an eliminator last fight, I did, but he gets a title shot now.

I have a few questions I want to ask the public, that's it. My questions are simple. How can Barrera come up from 126lbs., never fight an eliminator... None of these things other fighters that are in my position or in the position to fight for the title such as myself and Peden, and other guys have done. How can he go and fight for the world title? Casamayor is number three in the IBF, right or wrong? How does he skip all three of us?

Now I've been advised not to say anything about the IBF because it will be come back to haunt me and they'll hold it against me. What's the worst they can do to me? Not give me the fight? I mean, I don't mean no harm. Have I said one thing bad about the IBF? I'm just asking questions. Maybe I didn't read the rules right. Maybe my rules are out dated. Maybe there's some new rules that came out that I haven't read about., Maybe they don't like me... But nevertheless in order for this fight to happen, don't the rules have to be adhered to? I mean if these rules mean nothing why even have them? I just need to know why. Maybe the people out there can tell me something I'm missing, give me another way to look at it. Give me a better understanding, make me feel better about it.

I'm not asking do we need a title shot against Barrera? I don't really care. I'm just saying make him (Morales) do his mandatory if nothing else. You make him do his mandatory, I can't complain because I've got to fight for the number one spot. I understand that's not the issue here; the issue is if you strip him, I fight for the title right now. You're basically telling me I have to wait a year and a half because somebody skipped me

 

BRC: I don't agree... He shouldn't be able to skip... I think he should at least have to fight in some sort of eliminator. But I do see Morales and Barrera fighting on November 27th.

 

CAMPBELL:  My question is, how is the IBF gonna allow this man (Barrera) to fight for the title?? He was supposed to go forward and take the fight,  start negotiating by the 7th of this month, that was seven days ago. Now they go on a purse bid,  that's another 14 days added onto that.

 

BRC: So you can't even line anything up because you're stuck in the waiting game?

 

CAMPBELL: Right I can't even really fight... I can't even jump in, should I fight this guy, because I don't want to make myself not available. My career is on hold because people want to play their games. This man didn't want no IBF title, he did it to make history, he made history with it. He's the first man to come up and unify a title, first Mexican fighter. Chavez never did that, Salvador Sanchez never did that, Zaragoza never did that, none of the great Mexican fighters ever did it. We need government regulations on this stuff man.  The NBA has it, the NFL has it,  baseball has it, why can't boxing have it?

 

BRC: Do you see boxing having it anytime soon?

 

CAMPBELL: I see boxing slowly dying.

 

BRC: Do you think a Boxing Commission can save it at this point?

 

CAMPBELL: You know what? I don't even think a commission can save boxing   at this point. It's so corrupt. How can a man fight for millions of dollars and end up dead broke at the end of his life and nobody owes him anything and most of these people are making three times what this guy is making off of himself and nobody can be held accountable for it? They have a pension in every other sport but boxing. Everybody got a pension but us.

 

BRC: What do you think it would take to get one?

 

CAMPBELL: First of all it don't need to be nobody who's a washed up boxer who has no money. It needs to be somebody who is so passionate about the sport of boxing that they are willing to say you know what? if I loose all my friends, if they come after me to murder me, I'm going to do my job. And you know, it's crazy we could really co-exist as promoters, fighters, and sanctioning bodies and all these belts can still be valid if this kind of stuff can happen.

I'm always fighting against the Max Kellerman types because they say stuff like we only need one title. I think the three titles are what matters, you need them. I think Shavers would have been a  champion back in his day but he was not. A lot of these guys who were  great would've been able to become champion. Now getting them to unify is a whole 'nother story. I think there should be a unification rule. When there are three champions, well, four, because you gotta recognize the WBO now. They need to get in and start to mix it up. And stop running around and not do this and say no I don't wanna fight him. I loved the fact that at middleweight they had that box off, I loved it. That was one of the best things to happen to boxing in years.

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If you've enjoyed reading Campbell's take on things, stay tuned Part 2 is coming...