The 27-year-old Islander, who left Jersey Reds at the end of his contract last May, was denied the national super-heavyweight amateur title with a surprise verdict in Motherwell. All five judges voted in favour of opponent Gary Fairgrieve.
Campbell believes he did enough for victory, having taken control in the third and final round, and was convinced the bout had gone his way until the result was confirmed.
‘It’s amateur boxing,’ he said. ‘So unless you knock a guy out you can never be sure of what the result will be.
‘I did have a slow start – he [Fairgrieve] is a southpaw so it was a bit awkward – but I came back into it in the second round and I thought I dominated the third.
‘When they said “by unanimous decision” I thought I’d done it, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.
‘It’s easy to say it was a poor decision, but at the end of the day it was the decision, so I’ve just got to make the most of it and not look for any excuses.’
Fairgrieve will go on to represent Scotland at the 2018 Home Nations Championships, with Western Districts champion Campbell now unsure if plans for international bouts will come to fruition.
‘There was talk of maybe going to box in Serbia for Scotland, but I’m not sure if that’s out of the window now,’ Campbell explained.
‘I’m really gutted because I worked so hard. It feels like I’ve stumbled at the last hurdle after having a perfect season. But everything happens for a reason and I will take the positives out of it.’
I’m really gutted because I worked so hard. It feels like I’ve stumbled at the last hurdle after having a perfect season
