Campbell faces Nevin battle for gold after easing past Shimizu in semis
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UPDATED:
13:57 GMT, 10 August 2012
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Luke Campbell will look to follow Nicola Adams' lead and book a second Olympic boxing gold medal for Great Britain on Saturday after easing through his bantamweight semi-final against Japan's Satoshi Shimizu 20-11.
The 24-year-old Hull man has improved with every fight in the competition and he eased away from his awkward opponent to set up a bout with old foe John Joe Nevin of Ireland for the gold medal on Saturday.
One win away: Luke Campbell (left) will fight for the gold medal after beating Satoshi Shimizu
Shimizu could count himself a little fortunate to reach the semi-finals at all, having been adjudged the loser in a farcical second round clash with Azerbaijan's Magomed Abdulhamidov which was subsequently overturned on appeal.
The 26-year-old had made the most of his second chance, reaching the medal rounds with a close win over Algeria's Mohamed Ouadahi, but world silver medallist Campbell was strongly favoured to progress.
On the attack: Luke Campbell gets the better of his Japanese opponent
Campbell, who had started sluggishly in his opening win over Jahyn Parrinello, dispatched a straight left in the opening moments but it was immediately clear the gangly Shimizu was not going to prove a pushover.
Few other bantamweights tower over Campbell, and Shimizu used his extra reach to good effect behind a ramrod jab, making it hard for the Hull man to employ his usual counter-punching style to such winning effect.
defence: Luke Campbell tries to block the punches from Satoshi Shimizu
A jolting left did hit home in the dying seconds of the opening round, giving the Hull man a solid 5-2 advantage, and Campbell was much improved in the second, finding his range to much better effect as he soared into an 11-6 lead.
And Campbell looked even more dominant in the last, landing shots from either hand with ease as Shimizu seemed to accept his fate, Campbell finishing in style with right hooks that jolted the Japanese fighter's head back.
