Luke Campbell will box for Olympic gold medal after winning semi-final at London 2012

Hull boxer Luke Campbell will fight for Olympic gold after beating Japan's Satoshi Shimizu in their semi-final today.

The 24-year-old St Paul's fighter led from start to finish to win by 20 points to 11 at London's ExCel Arena.

He will now face Ireland's John Joe Nevin in the final of the bantamweight division on Saturday night.

Campbell walked out to rapturous applause but nerves did not get in the way and he started brightly with a flurry of punches midway through the first round to take a 5-2 lead at the bell.

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Chants of 'GB' from the crowd greeted the start of the second round, when Campbell again boxed strongly.

He landed three blows in quick succession midway through the round to stamp his authority on the tie and extend his lead to 11-6 at the second break.

Campbell was now just three minutes away from an Olympic final.

Again the crowd raised the volume as the two boxers began the final round and it wasn't long before Campbell was out of sight.

With 30 seconds left on the clock the Hull boxer landed possibly his best combination to put the icing on an emphatic win.

After the bout, Campbell revealed his corner had kept him sharp for the final round by telling him he was only just ahead of his opponent.

He said: "I didn't know it was five points after the second round.

"I thought it was one or two because that's what my corner told me.

"You can't switch off at this level.

"I was in a very tough bout. He was relentless but I got the clean punches in."

The final is due to take place tomorrow (Saturday) night at 8.45pm.

Nevin got the better of Cuba's world champion Lazaro Alvarez to advance today, but Campbell beat the Irishman during the 2011 World Championships

Campbell, the grandson of an Irish boxer, has family in Ireland who know Nevin's family.

He said: "He is a top fighter and it's going to be a great final."

And Campbell's former roommate Amir Khan - himself an Olympic medallist - said he was convinced Campbell would go on to win the gold.

He told BBC Sport: "It will be a close fight against Nevin but I really think Luke has got his number."

Earlier today, Luke Campbell's mum Jill told the Mail of her immense pride in her son. And since his victory this afternoon, messages of congratulation have been pouring in. Here are just a few of them: