By Keith Idec

Vasiliy Lomachenko wouldn’t go as far to state that he expects the most difficult fight of his career from Luke Campbell.

The three-division champion knows, though, that their 12-round lightweight championship match Saturday night will be far more difficult than his previous fight. Lomachenko is heavily favored to defeat Campbell, too, but another Brit, Anthony Crolla, didn’t offer any real resistance when Lomachenko knocked out his mandatory challenger in the fourth round April 12 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

“Maybe it will be a harder fight for me [than any other],” Lomachenko said during a press conference Thursday in London. “But I can answer after the fight. Luke Campbell is not an easy fighter. He’s a tough fighter. He’s a smart fighter. He’s a technical fighter. So, it will be a very interesting and technical fight.”

The 31-year-old Lomachenko (13-1, 10 KOs) will defend his WBA and WBO lightweight titles against Campbell (20-2, 16 KOs), who’s also 31. They’ll fight for the vacant WBC 135-pound championship as well.

Odds-makers have regularly listed Ukraine’s Lomachenko as a 16-1 favorite versus Campbell. The challenger couldn’t care less about how handicappers or others feel about his chances of upsetting the two-time Olympic gold medalist.

“You can’t go in there worrying about what someone else is gonna do,” Campbell said. “You’ve gotta go in there and concentrate on yourself, and that you’re not making any mistakes and that you’re the best person you can be on that night. And that’s what we’re doing.”

Lomachenko, meanwhile, isn’t concerned about boxing before a pro-Campbell, capacity crowd that’s expected to exceed 18,000. He’ll fight in London for the first time since he won the second of his gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

“I can’t wait to come to the ring,” Lomachenko said, “and show my boxing skill for British fans and for fans around the world.”

Lomachenko-Campbell will headline a multi-match stream by ESPN+ in the United States (1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT). It’ll be broadcast via pay-per-view by Sky Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom (6 p.m. BST; £19.95).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.