Hi Luke! You’re back fighting in Hull on Saturday fighting Daniel Brizuela for the vacant WBA Inter-Continental lightweight title. Excited? Yeah! Seems like it was ages ago. The support and the atmosphere that I get in Hull is unbelievable. I still live in the city.
What’s your entrance music for the fight? Small Talk psyche itself up this light-hearted interview with a bit of Whitney. I’m hopefully going to have a singer from Hull come down, this lad called Callum. It’s good to have someone else from the city to get involved and show their skills off as well. I listen to a lot of Calvin Harris and the latest chart music. I really like McFly. Danny from the band is a friend of mine and I’ve been to see them a couple of times.
Who would win between a Hull City tiger and a Hull City lion? I think a lion. They’re the king of the jungle, so I’d back the lion.
A wise choice. You’ve been pictured with Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno recently. Who would you rather fight? Do I have to fight any of them? I’d probably rather fight Bruno because if you hit Bruno and run off, that would be it, he wouldn’t follow you up! But if you did it to Tyson, I think he’s hunt you down, and make sure he gets ya!
Would you ever consider getting a face tattoo like Mike Tyson? You’re joking aren’t you?! [Small Talk confirms that it is indeed joking] At the moment I’ve still got all my marbles so if I lose a few, maybe I’d consider it! Would you get one?
Small Talk would have to think long and hard about that. If Small Talk got a face tattoo, it would either go all Nile Ranger and get SMALL TALK emblazoned across it’s forehead, or get a teardrop under my eye. That’s hard isnt’ it? Yeah my Uncle Micky had one of them. He’s passed away now but he had it when he was in jail. I think a lot of people get them when they’re in jail. Maybe he was sad …
Have you got any tattoos? I’ve got [the Greek goddess of victory] Nike, on my ribs.
Not just the tick then? Nah it’s the symbol on my Olympic medal, and I wanted to get something different from everyone else who gets the five rings. And I’ve also got my fiancee’s name on me.
Where do you keep your medal? Do you ever get it out and polish it? Erm, no I don’t. The glory of it will be with me forever but it’s in my heart where it matters.
What did you say to the Queen when you got your MBE? I just asked how she was and how her day was going. She said she was having a great day but believe it or not, I was really shocked – she was asking a lot of questions about boxing and about my training. She actually had knowledge about boxing, I was impressed!
You refer to yourself a lot in the third-person in interviews. Small Talk always finds that a bit annoying … There’s a lot of expectation on you in the media, sometimes you just slip into it. I don’t realise I’m doing it! I’m just try to be myself in interviews, you do get a lot of people that change, put a front on to try and be something they’re not.
Have you ever been in the gold phonebox they put up in Hull for your Olympic triumph in 2012. Small Talk is worried that with the increasing use of mobile phones, your phonebox isn’t being used for the purposes Lord Coe intended. I have actually used it once!
When was the last time you lost or broke your mobile? I broke it about three weeks ago actually. The replacement phone really did my head in, so slow.
How did you break it? I threw it, out of anger.
Why did you get angry? Someone just annoyed me, so I threw it across the room.
It’s almost like you need a sport or activity in which you could constructively channel that anger … what’s motivating you for the fight against Brizuela? Just to be the best. I’m going to benefit from that, my family is going to benefit from that. Not that I see boxing as a job, it’s a lifestyle. It’s something that you’ve got to live a commit to it: no alcohol, good food, looking after your body, be dedicated and believe in yourself.
How easy is it to do that all the time? Surely you must have a chocolate digestive or two sometimes? You’ve got to have your downtime because you can’t always be in that zone. We are human beings, you need to mentally switch off now and again to refresh your body and mind. But I never just lie on the couch in my downtime, I still keep my body in good shape.
Where do you least like being punched? On the nose. It’s quite flat as it is. I was born with a flat nose, that’s not because of boxing. I’ve never broken it, touch wood.
What’s Eddie Hearn like? Small Talk is a bit unnerved by how slick and suave he is. Well he’s been around boxing since he was a child, so he knows everything and everyone. Yeah he’s a cool cat. He’s got the flash watch and the nice car but he’s the same in private as he is in public.
You’re nickname is called “Cool Hand Luke”. In the film, there’s a bit where Paul Newman picks up a rattlesnake by the tail. Could you do that? Probably not! I definitely couldn’t eat 50 boiled eggs neither!
Are snakes a phobia of yours? No, but spiders are. It’s a bit peculiar to be scared of spiders and not scared of an angry man punching me but I’m prepared for the fight. I’m not prepared for the spider biting me, I have to get the missus to help!
Who would play you in a film? [Ponders for a while]. Tom Hardy. He’s an awesome actor, not sure how he’d get on with the Hull accent though.
Can you tell us a joke? I’ve got one – I told this joke when I was guest speaker at a dinner in front of 500 people and I got about two laughs.
Excellent. Fire away. Knock knock.
Who’s there? The little man.
The little man who? The little man who can’t reach the doorbell!
On that note, Luke, it’s time to say goodbye! Thanks for talking to us! Bye! See ya Small Talk.
Luke Campbell is supporting Cancer Research UK’s new campaign #WeWill beat cancer sooner. Join the fight at www.cruk.org
