LONDON, England -- Luke Campbell got revenge over Yvan Mendy with a unanimous points win in a WBC world lightweight title eliminator on Saturday.
Campbell earned a shot at WBC titleholder Mikey Garcia with a sensible boxing display which earned scores of 119-109, 118-111 and 116-112 at Wembley Stadium.
Campbell (19-2, 15 KOs), 30, was lucklustre and out-of-sorts when he was floored and deservedly beaten by a split decision to Frenchman Mendy in December 2015, but this was a totally different display, full of vim and vigour.
The Briton desperately needed a career-boosting win after losing another split decision to Jorge Linares for the WBA belt a year ago and he is now mandatory challenger to U.S. fighter Garcia.
Vasyl Lomachenko, the brilliant Ukrainian who stopped Linares in ten rounds in May, looked on from ringside and will have been impressed with Campbell's slick and elusive boxing skills.
Mendy (40-5-1, 19 KOs), 33, had compiled ten successive wins since his last defeat and Campbell knew only too well how effective the Frenchman's punches could be.
Campbell, who was working with trainer Shane McGuigan for the first time, boxed neatly early on while Mendy's shots contained more power.
Mendy stalked Campbell about the ring in the third round and was encouraged by how he was able to get through the Briton's guard.
Campbell boxed immaculately through the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, using his jab to keep out of danger and darting out of range after landing a quick flurry of blows.
His fast hands, landing quick-fire combinations, and footwork kept him in control in the latter rounds, but Campbell took a big right when he was trapped on the ropes early in the 11th and at the end of the round Mendy pumped his fist, feeling he had won it.
Mendy was behind on the scorecards though, and he could not find the finishing blow he needed in the last round.
It was far from pretty, but Lawrence Okolie took a significant step forward in his career by lifting the British cruiserweight title in his tenth fight with a unanimous points win over Matty Askin.
The 2016 Olympian was deducted points in the fifth and eighth rounds for a low blow and holding, but he still landed more and was more aggressive to earn scores of 116-110, 114-112 and 114-113.
It was a scrappy affair with a lot of holding, but Okolie landed a clean, right cross in the seventh round which Askin did well to absorb.
Okolie (10-0, 7 KOs), 24, won the Commonwealth crown with a third round win over Luke Watkins in June but his work was untidy against Askin, who was making a second British title defence.
The Hackney boxer and Askin (23-4-1, 15 KOs), 29, from Blackpool, were unable to land many clean punches and were booed at the end of 12 rounds.
David Price endured more heartache when he was forced to retire at the end of the fourth round against Russia's Sergey Kuzmin (13-0, 10 KOs) due to an injured right biceps.
After being knocked out by Alexander Povetkin in March, the Briton could ill afford another setback but he has now lost three of his last four fights.
Price (22-6, 18 KOs), 35, was left asking for a rematch but after six defeats - all inside the distance - it is hard to see where his career can go.
It began well for Price, who launched a promising attack in the third round but could not make it count.
In the fourth there was a worrying moment for Price when he was shook by a right to the chin before he was then pulled out by his corner before the start of the fifth round.
"I've had a slight tear in the right bicep for the last few weeks but I had to take the fight," Price said.
"At the end of the fourth round it was barely moveable. It's really frustrating."