ESPN Boxing

Whew! For a minute there, we were afraid that Nate Campbell was going soft on us.

The three-belt lightweight titlist has never been one to pull his punches, in or out of the ring, but the first thing they teach you on television is that you can't swear when the cameras are rolling. And having filled in behind the ESPN2 mike for several shows while Teddy Atlas was off in Beijing, the Galaxxy Warrior sounded a bit, well, guarded as he discussed his Sept. 13 fight against Joan Guzman on a nationwide conference call that Showtime had arranged.

He didn't quite say "Aw, shucks, ma'am," but he was unfailingly polite, even when asked if he'd been training "in the mountains" down in Florida.

"Guzman is a nice guy, but I'm here to do damage," Campbell said during a conference call, measuring his words as he struggled to say the right thing. "At the end of the day, we both know how to put our best stuff in the ring. We'll see what happens."

The gloves had already come off by the time Guzman spoke with ESPN.com.

"What is there about this little man," he seethed, "that makes anybody even think he can beat me? Do you really think a little man [Guzman is moving up to lightweight from junior lightweight] like this can move up two or three weight divisions and beat somebody like me? Who the hell knows anything about these guys Guzman has fought? Look at his record: [Humberto] Soto is the biggest name on his dossier. How sad is that?"

It isn't as if Campbell considers the undefeated Dominican an unworthy opponent. What has Campbell worked up at the moment is that in betting shops around the world Guzman, who has never before fought as a lightweight, is a nearly 2-1 favorite.

"Those are the posted odds, anyway," said Campbell's manager, Terry Trekas. "But in Vegas last week I tried to bet $100,000 on Nate and they wouldn't take it, because there hasn't been enough money bet the other way."

Still, that he is an underdog at all fuels Campbell's resentment over what he considers a lack of respect.

"This is going to be just like Juan Diaz all over again," Campbell said. "Before I fought him [Diaz was a 4-1 favorite] he was a god. Then when I beat him he was 'overrated.'"

Like a Boy named Sue, a pug named Joan has to be tough. Guzman's handle is actually pronounced "Jo-ahn" -- unless you're Don King, who calls him "Jo Ann" -- and Joan says it's a fairly common given name among Dominicans.

"When I was born my mother named me after a very popular singer from Spain named Joan Manuel," he explained. He eventually dropped the "Manuel" part.

Guzman has endured more than his share of postponed fights and vanishing opponents over the years, and when Hurricane Gustav was bearing down on the Gulf Coast a week ago the card at the Beau Rivage briefly seemed imperiled.

"I've grown so accustomed to fights falling apart," said Guzman, "that when I heard about the hurricane, I thought 'here we go again.'"

Now that Joe Calzaghe has started jettisoning his belts the way a circling airliner prepares to land by dumping fuel, Campbell is the only extant champion to own three of the four recognized world titles. But even though his upset of Diaz in Cancun in March came before a nationwide television audience, the man on the street is only vaguely aware of his name. And, if you asked hard-core boxing fans to name the lightweight champion, the guessing here is that few would respond with Campbell's name.

Part of the problem is that the fourth belt belongs to Manny Pacquiao, generally acknowledged to be the sport's top pound-for-pound practitioner. And part of it is the lingering presence of Joel Casamayor, who despite holding no recognized title is regarded as the lightweight "champion" by The Ring magazine, and will undoubtedly be introduced as such by Michael Buffer when he steps into the ring against Juan Manuel Marquez in an HBO fight scheduled for the same night Campbell faces Guzman.

Campbell has also been a victim of his own success. Since his win over Diaz elevated him to "super champion," the public had barely had time to recognize his achievement when, two months later, the WBA was auctioning off its "regular" title, and the name of the immortal Yusuke Kobori was added to the list of lightweight championship claimants.

"First of all, Pacquiao isn't even relevant to the discussion," said Trekas. "He's only had one fight as a lightweight, and now he's moving up to fight Oscar De La Hoya. He'll lose that one, and then he'll probably fight somebody at 140. It will be a year or more before defends the WBC title, and that's if he ever does."

And, noted Campbell, "The Ring belt isn't a real championship. It's a trophy, but it isn't a title."

The Casamayor-as-champion argument tends to overlook Casamayor's narrow escape against unheralded Jose Armando Santa Cruz at Madison Square Garden in November, a split decision in which a pair of ringside judges were the only two people in the building who thought the Cuban won.

Campbell, surprisingly, has never watched a tape of the controversial Casamayor-Santa Cruz bout.

"I didn't have to," he said. "The same thing happened when he fought me."

In fact, Campbell's case for 135-pound supremacy would probably be stronger but for the result of his prior meeting with Casamayor five and a half years ago, in which the Cuban posted a unanimous decision.

"But that was a green Nate Campbell, and it was Casamayor in his prime," said Trekas. "And Joel is the guy who wound up in the hospital afterward. Nate played blackjack in the casino all night."

That the Casamayor defeat is one of five on Campbell's career log may be another reason for the odds favoring Guzman next Saturday night.

"Yes, I have losses on my record," said Campbell. "I came up the hard way. Remember, I only had 36 amateur fights, so my early career was part of the learning process. I fought some guys early on I probably wasn't ready for, but if there's one thing I've learned in my life it's that there's nothing like getting a good ass-whipping to teach you what life is all about. It's what you learn from the experience that's important."

The Campbell-Casamayor issue is unlikely to be settled in the ring at this point.

"He could have been in the ring with me next Saturday night," said Campbell. "We offered this fight to him, and I was willing to take less money even though I have three belts and he has none. He didn't want to fight me, and now he'll never fight me. He's totally off our radar screen. I don't even think about him."

OK. We know why Campbell is fighting Guzman, but why is Guzman fighting Campbell?

"I was supposed to defend my 130-pound title against Alex Arthur in Edinburgh," Guzman said. "When that fight fell through [after Guzman experienced the ubiquitous 'visa problems'], the WBO gave me the option to vacate that championship and become the No. 1 at 135. It was a chance I couldn't really pass up. It made sense for me and my team."

The confident Campbell seems utterly contemptuous of Guzman's punching power, noting that Joan hasn't had an opponent on the floor since he dropped Agapito Sanchez four and a half years ago.

"I'm the puncher in this fight. I'm the bigger man and I'm physically stronger," said Campbell. "People [who] talk about his quickness are missing something: I'm not slow, not by any stretch."

Campbell has prepared for the bout by boxing with Guzman-specific sparring partners, including Joey Figueroa and trainer John David Jackson.

"Joseph Figueroa is from New York. He used to spar with Guzman and can box just like him," said Campbell. "And John David Jackson can mimic any style in the world.

"I'm not saying this is gonna be an easy fight, but I don't see it as any harder than any other," said Campbell. "I've been beating and debilitating opponents. Think about it: who's the last guy I didn't break down at 135?"

We could name a few, but Nate's right: It's been a while.

"Don't judge me on the past," he warned. "At the end of the day, you have to judge me by what I am now."

George Kimball, who writes for the Irish Times and Boxing Digest as well as ESPN.com, won the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism in 1985. His new book, "Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing" will be published later this year.