London 2012 Olympic gold medallist boxer Luke Campbell will stand for Reform UK in the upcoming Hull and East Yorkshire mayoral election.
Campbell, bantamweight Olympic champion in London, is the sixth candidate to be declared for the May election. In boxing bantamweight is for fighters who are 51kg to 54kg and all four world title belts are currently held by Japanese boxers.
Campbell was unveiled as Reform UK’s candidate by Nigel Farage at a rally in Hull.
He said he was a “Hull lad born and bred,” adding: “I’m not going to stand on this stage and pretend I’m a politician, because I’m certainly not.
“The mayor role for me isn’t about playing politics. It’s about being a voice for Hull and East Yorkshire.”
Campbell added: “We all have a choice, we can stand up for our families, we can stand up for our communities and we can stand up for our future.
“I want to give the people of Hull and East Yorkshire a fighting chance, I want to be accountable for real change.”
It’s not the first time Olympic gold medalists have stood before the electorate with rower James Cracknell standing for the Conservative party at the 2024 election. The Olympian finished second in Colchester, 8,000 votes off winner Pam Cox MP.
Former international rugby player Tonia Antoniazzi is the MP for Gower while head of World Athletics and International Olympic Committee presidential hopeful Lord Coe was an MP for Falmouth and Camborne and now sits in the Lord’s.
And it is not the first time Reform UK’s Farage has appeared with a big name of British boxing, having sparred with 36-13 heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora.
About Reform UK’s Luke Campbell
Campbell, 37, has a professional boxing record of 20 wins, 16 by knockout, from 24 fights. His pro career ended with two consecutive defeats, one against Vasiliy Lomachenko at London’s O2 Arena before a knockout defeat to Ryan Garcia in 2021.
He was one of three Team GB boxing gold medals at London 2012, alongside Anthony Joshua and Nicola Adams – Fred Evans picked up a silver and Anthony Ogogo a bronze – and he has also won a European Championship gold medal.
He reached the final of Dancing on Ice in 2013 alongside London 2012 bronze medal-winning gymnast Beth Tweddle.
Campbell has no previous political experience.