Boxing News - Latest Headlines

By Max Schramm: Undisputed lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. says he’ll be on a scouting mission this weekend by attending the Devin Haney vs. Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr. fight on Saturday Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz match on Sunday.

(Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom or Melina Pizano/Matchroom)

According to the unbeaten Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs), he wants to see which fighter puts on the best ‘Fight of the Year’ performance that might motivate him to pick that person.

Haney-Diaz and Gervonta-Cruz will audition to land the fight against Kambosos. Haney and Diaz Jr. seem interested, but Gervonta isn’t nearly as excited.

When asked about the possibility of fighting Kambosos next, Tank (25-0, 24 KOs) claimed that he’s not interested in fighting for his belts, but he’ll give him a payday if that’s what he wants.

Kambosos ready to fight again

“I feel so fresh; I feel so good. I’m recovered already,” said George Kambosos on Thursday in an interview with Eddie Hearn at Matchroom Boxing.

“If one of them [Devin Haney or Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr] pull out, get the checkbook out, and I’ll be in there,” said Kambosos. “I’ll use the same pair of shorts that I used for [Teofimo] Lopez, even if they’re full of blood.

“Look, a lot of people didn’t believe in me. Maybe 99% of the world didn’t believe in me, and they thought they were going to get rid of me in the first round. But the most important person that believed was obviously my team, but the most important was myself.

“I believed like crazy. And I didn’t change throughout the whole preparation. I knew I was going to beat this kid [Teofimo] and take everything off him, and that’s what I did. Everybody was, ‘It was a battle, it was a war, it was a hard fight and won the fight.

“Honestly, I feel so fresh. I don’t feel like it was a hard fight. I live for this, and I love this—the blood, the knockdowns, the back and forth exchanges. I’m a warrior. I’m a Spartan warrior.

“For me, I’ll do this every week if I had to. Lopez would have stopped any other lightweight in the world at that point, but not Kambosos. I was ready to do what I had to do,” said Kambosos on him getting knocked down in the tenth round by Teofimo.

As beat up as Kambosos looked today while being interviewed, it would be a bad idea for him to return to the ring anytime soon, especially not against a fighter like Tank Davis.

Haney-Diaz & Gervonta-Cruz auditioning for Kambosos fiight

“I was prepared to die in that ring on Saturday night, and that’s a scary thought because I’ve got three kids,” said Kambosos.

“Yeah, look, it’s a great fight,” said Kambosos on Saturday’s match between WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney and Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr. “For me, it’s a scouting mission and who is going to perform.

“As a fight fan, I’m excited to be there and watch them fight, and both are really talented guys. I’m looking forward to seeing which shows more,” Kambosos said of the Haney vs. Diaz fight at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

“The big thing now is I’m in the driver’s seat. I want action; I want Fight of The Year candidates; that’s what I’m looking for. I want to give the fans their money’s worth, and I’m not here to touch, run around and play games.

“All these guys, they want the shot, and they’ve got to show me something,” said Kambosos on Haney, Diaz, Gervonta Davis, and Isaac Cruz. “They’ve really got to show me, and it’s going to be a battle.

“That’s definitely the plan, to take it back home. I’ve been on the road since 2017, and I haven’t been in Australia for such a long time, and that was always the plan.

“Do it the hard years, earn it the hard way, and when we got everything, and we win the championship of the world, we’ll come back [to Australia] and fill 80,000 people in a stadium,” Kambosos said.

It’s easy to predict which of the four fighters will put in the most impressive performance this weekend. Gervonta has the most exciting style of the four fighters, and he’s also the most dangerous for a guy like Kambosos.

Haney will likely jab and spoil his way to an ugly victory against Jojo Diaz Jr. on Saturday, so it’s unlikely he’ll get picked out by Kambosos.

The only way Haney gets picked by Kambosos is if his promoter Eddie Hearn can use his power of persuasion to talk him into taking the fight.

Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez are in the mix

“This is exciting, this is great for the division, and I have full respect for everyone inside the division,” said Kambosos. “The same for Lopez; I never disrespected him. I showed him my respect, but I had to do my thing in the ring.

“He’s still in the mix too if he wants it, but I’m looking to seeing the fight on the weekend, the Tank [vs. Isaac Cruz] fight.

“Ryan Garcia, hopefully, he stops going missing and comes back and Lomachenko and Commey as well. They’re great fights. It all depends on who shows the most now.

“Australia, they’re still celebrating. I haven’t even celebrated,” said Kambosos on his win over Teofimo. “I haven’t dared to have a drink yet. I’ve been so embedded in the media, but they’re still celebrating and enjoying this.

“As I said, this is not only my world titles but their world titles as well as Greece. There are big plans down under, and obviously, you’ve got big plans as well. It’s going to be an interesting 2022,” said Kambosos.

As Kambosos says, Ryan Garcia and Teofimo have a chance of getting picked out by him for his next fight.

Kambosos’ promoter Lou DiBella said on Thursday that he feels Ryan Garcia will bring in more fans than Haney.

Nevertheless, Ryan isn’t in the running because DiBella says he would need to get back in the ring and start fighting soon, and he’s not likely to do that. Ryan hasn’t fought since last January, and he’s coming off hand surgery to a sparring injury.

It probably doesn’t matter that Kambosos is saying that Teofimo (16-1, 12 KOs) is still in the running because he already said he’s not interested in a rematch because he plans on moving up to 140.

Even if Kambosos volunteered to go up to 140, Teofimo still won’t fight him. He’s going to try and rebuild himself from his defeat, and it might take him a while before he starts fighting quality opposition again.