Kambosos: “Haney had the better performance” than Gervonta Davis

By Boxing News - 12/07/2021 - Comments

By Jim Calfa: George Kambosos Jr. says he thinks WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney put in a better performance last weekend compared to WBA secondary champion Gervonta Davis with his victory over Isaac Cruz.

Former three-division world champion Vasily Lomachenko is one of the other fighters Kambosos said he had some interest in possibly facing. Lomachenko is fighting against Richard Commey on ESPN at Madison Square Garden in New York this weekend.

Loma unlikely to get Kambosos fight

Lomachenko is the longshot to get the fight with Kambosos because he’s belt-less at the moment and has a very tough style to crack. Of the lightweights in the division, Lomachenko is arguably the #1 guy, but he’s being avoided because of the high risk and low reward he brings to the ‘Four Kings.’

It’s improbable that Kambosos is considering a fight with Lomachenko because his chances for success are pretty low to the point where it’s not in his best interest to take the fight. Lomachenko is on another level than Kambosos, and it would be a mismatch if he fought the Australian.

Kambosos, 28, had previously said that he would decide who his next opponent would be based on which of them performed better. If he’s true to his word, Haney would be in the pole position to land the fight with Kambosos.

Fighting with only one hand in the championship rounds, Tank had a close call in defeating ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (22-2-1, 15 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Many boxing fans felt that Cruz, 23, deserved a draw or a win.

In Haney’s case, he soundly beat Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr. (32-2-1, 15 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

Jojo was fighting for only the second time since moving up to the 135-lb division from the 130-lb weight class, and he looked tired through most of the fight. One could tell from watching that Jojo was laboring with the additional weight he was carrying.

The undisputed lightweight champion Kambosos Jr (20-0, 10 KOs) attended both fights last weekend involving 135-lb champions Tank (26-0, 24 KOs) and Haney (27-0, 15 KOs), both of which were arguably auditioning to share the ring with the Australian in the first quarter of 2022.

Although Tank and his promoters Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Leonard Ellerbe are playing it coy about their interest in a fight with Kambosos, they’re VERY interested in setting up a clash for the undisputed championship with him.

There’s too much easy money for Tank and his promoters to make fighting Kambosos, be it in Australia or the United States. Team Tank Davis isn’t going to let that opportunity pass them by without making a solid play to land that fight with Kambosoos.

Kambosos: Haney had a better performance than Tank

“All the best to whatever they do next. That fight [against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis] might be there. We will see,” said Kambosos to Fighthype, reacting to Gervonta’s controversial win over Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz last Sunday night.

Image: Kambosos: "Haney had the better performance" than Gervonta Davis

“Yeah, because Cruz likes to come in, he’s got a gutty style,” Kambosos said when asked if he was expecting that kind of a fight between Tank and Pitbull Cruz.

“Big respect to Isaac Cruz; he’s a warrior. He took some shots, and he kept coming all night. At one stage, it looked like he might go because Tank was on the front foot, but he came strong, man.

We know who is #1, who has all the belts, who is #1 at lightweight, and that’s me,” said Kambosos in putting himself above Gervonta, Vasily Lomachenko, Devin Haney, and Ryan Garcia without having fought any of them.

“That’s for the world to say, but in my opinion, look, Haney had the better performance [beating Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr last Saturday], but we’ll see where the negotiations go now,” said Kambosos.

George says he’ll make Gervonta “more money”

Kambosos believes he can make Tank Davis more money in a fight with him than for him facing anyone else. That’s debatable, but he might be right. The one exception could be Ryan Garcia, who has a massive following on social media.

If Mayweather Promotions were willing to set up a fight between Tank and Ryan Garcia on Showtime PPV, it would likely do better numbers than a match with Kambosos.

However, it’s not a good sign that Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe is saying that Ryan must take a tune-up in early 2022 before he can potentially get a fight with Tank.

If Ellerbe is serious about Ryan needing to prove himself first to get a fight with Tank Davis, the battle will not happen.

“Tank did say he’ll rip my a** for free,” Kambosos said in reacting to his dad reminding him that Gervonta said he’d fight him for free. “I’ll make him more money.

“I think the pressure and the movement of Isaac Cruz; would be firefight either way. Isaac Cruz excited me because he’s a fighter, he’s a warrior, but Tank is a fighter as well. All the fights excite me. I’m going to fight them all eventually.

“I’m coming to Australia because I deserve that, but this is a beautiful arena in Los Angeles. I’d like to fight here [Staples Center] after I defend my belts in Australia,” said Kambosos in counting his chickens before they’ve hatched.

“I’m training every day; I’m still training. Just because I’m flying around and going to great places, I’m still training,” George said. “I’m looking forward to going home really soon and showing my kids by belts.

Kambosos curious about Tank Davis’ injury

Tank’s left-hand injury from the Issac Cruz fight had Kambosos sounding a little skeptical when inquiring about it. By how Kambosos asked, one could tell that he was a little suspicious.

“I love that fight; I love all the fights. We got to see with the negotiations and what comes to that. Did he? I didn’t know that,” Kambosos said when told that Tank Davis injured his left hand during the fight with Isaac Cruz.

What injury was it? A nail or his pinky or something? In Australia, it’s like this anyway. It’s nothing different,” Kambosos said about the massive crowd for the Tank vs. Cruz fight.

“In Australia, it’s crazy wherever I go. When I go to the fights, it’s nuts. I’ve been on the world seen for a long time, so I’ve had that in Australia that respect and what I’m doing. This is just part of the game.

“I love the fight game, and I love this beautiful crowd in Los Angeles. They opened their arms,” said Kambosos. “How are you, brother?” said Kambosos as he greeted Tank’s promoter Leonard Ellerbe of Mayweather Promotions. “Enjoy the holidays, and then we start to talk.”

If Tank weren’t having problems before the championship rounds, which is when he was supposed to have hurt his hand, the injury would be more believable.