Tommy Coyle and Jamie Moore Plot the Downfall of the Unbeaten Luke Campbell

Luke Campbell and Tommy Coyle will clash on Saturday night in a bout that has been a long time in the making.

The two lightweights from Hull, England, will divide their home city when they clash at the KC Lightstream Stadium, with the duo topping the bill on a card dubbed the "Rumble on the Humber."

It will not be the first time they have been in the same ring—they crossed paths as youngsters when attending the same amateur club, St. Pauls.

However, they have taken different routes since those early days.

Campbell had a stellar amateur career that climaxed with him winning a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. He turned pro to tremendous fanfare and has since coasted to an 11-0 record.

Coyle was also successful as an amateur, though he opted to turn pro at the age of 20.

The son of a man who owns a fruit and vegetable stall, he has hardly cherry-picked his way through the field to set him up for the biggest payday of his career to date.

He has had 23 fights so far, winning all bar two of them. Since being given the chance to perform on televised shows as part of the Matchroom stable, Coyle has rarely failed to entertain.

He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Derry Mathews in 2013, missing out on the Commonwealth belt as he was stopped when ahead on the scorecards. He then got involved in a street brawl with Daniel Brizuela last year, eventually winning in the final round.

Even in his most recent outing, he nearly came a cropper, having to climb off the canvas to register a win over Martin Gethin.

In contrast, Campbell has clinically taken his opponents apart. He didn't brawl when he faced Brizuela last October, instead systematically breaking down the Argentinean brawler before stopping him in the fifth.

Now the former gym-mates will battle it out for the WBC International title. The belt doesn't really matter—this is all about local pride.

“We’ve left no stone unturned,” Coyle's trainer, Jamie Moore, said.

“He’s followed every single thing I’ve told him to do, both in sparring and training.

"He hasn’t made any mistakes, which I’m surprised about. I thought he would make mistakes early on, allowing us to fix them.

“If he loses the fight, we can honestly say we’ve lost to the better man. There will be no excuses. We know we’ve done everything right.”

Scott Heavey/Getty Images

Campbell is a tall order for Coyle, and not just because he’s a skilful southpaw who stands at 5’9”.

Even Moore acknowledges Cool Hand Luke “has not put a foot wrong as a professional.”

However, timing is crucial in boxing, and not just in terms of throwing punches. Moore—a former fighter who now finds himself giving out the orders in the corner—feels Campbell is making a big mistake in agreeing to take on Coyle at such a relatively early stage of his career.

“I’ve said many times, I believe he (Campbell) will be a world champion,” the former British and European super welterweight champion stated.

“But, I feel he’s taken on this fight too soon.

“I can honestly say that I believe Tommy will win, and win in good fashion.

“The big thing I’ve drummed into Tommy is that when someone doesn’t make mistakes, you have to force them into mistakes. He has to make Campbell make mistakes.”

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Coyle is a heavy underdog—Odds Shark has him priced up at 5-1 for victory.

However, the odds do not really concern him. He has only been focused on beating Campbell since the moment he defeated Gethin back in March.

The best-laid plans were nearly torn up when Coyle was dropped to the canvas in the second round. He recovered and benefited from his opponent having to pull out after the fifth due to a burst eardrum.

“It was difficult to watch because I knew he was making massive mistakes. I knew that something like that could happen,” Moore said of Coyle's performance against Gethin.

"Tommy wanted to get the Gethin fight over with as soon as possible, so that it allowed him to look forward to fighting Luke Campbell.

“But from the day after the Gethin fight, he was back in the gym going through what I’d talked to him about the Campbell fight.

“I just wanted him to work on stuff that will become second nature by the time the fight comes around.

“By the time sparring started, he already had everything off to a tee. He’s done everything I’ve asked of him.

“I just hope we’ve got it right. I feel we have, the sparring tells us we have. He’s just got to put it all into practice now.”

Moore can be certain of one thing—the ever-willing Coyle will give it everything he has to step out of Campbell's shadow and be crowned Hull's No. 1.

Rob Lancaster is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes used in the story were obtained firsthand, unless otherwise stated.