Unable to defend his titles against all of his mandatories in a timely manner and hoping for a big clash with the winner of the upcoming Marquez-Diaz fight, IBF, WBO and now former WBA ligthweight champion Nate Campbell has decided to vacate his WBA title. Campbell issued the following statement:
"I really wanted to try and unify the lightweight titles, but looking at reality, it just isn't going to happen, at least not in 09. Not that I'm looking past my Feb. 14th IBF mandatory with Ali Funeka, because I'm not. Funeka deserves, and unfortunately for him, he will get my full and undivided attention. But there just isnt any way I see that I would be able to do my WBA mandatory defense against Paulus Moses, or whoever has the regular title then. After Feb. 14, I really hope to fight the Juan Manuel Marquez - Juan Diaz winner next, and then right after that I have a WBO mandatory due with Barerra. So there's no way I can fullfill my mandatory obligation to the WBA. So rather than pay sanction fees on it for the next few fights, knowing full well I wont be able to defend it without giving up my WBO belt, (which I won't do), I decided to just go ahead and vacate the WBA title now."
"I still have the desire to someday unify all the belts, but I also have to balance that desire against the reality of the sport these days. There just arent enough opportunities to fight in order to maintain all the titles. Besides, if I do get the Marquez-Diaz winner next, then any and all debate about who the "real" lightweight champ is will be over once and for all. And after that, if my choice of mandatories is between Barerra or Moses, well no disrespect to Moses, but thats really a no-brainer. I do appreciate the WBA having recognized me as their Super Champion, and this decision in no way is a reflection on their organization."
Nate Campbell
IBF/WBO/NBA Lightweight Champion