By Jeff Aronow: The WBC has taken a lot of the air out of a potential fight between WBC lightweight champion Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney and ‘undisputed’ 135-lb champion George Kambosos Jr.
By the World Boxing Council calling Kambosos Jr (20-0, 10 Kos) the new “undisputed champion of the world,” it means that a fight between him and Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) is unnecessary because George is ALREADY the undisputed champion.
That being the case, Kambosos doesn’t need to beat Haney to take his WBC title to become the undisputed lightweight champion as his promoter Eddie Hearn claims.
Kambosos is already the undisputed 135-lb champion due to his12 round split decision win over Teofimo Lopez last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
With the Haney clash no longer needed for Kambosos to become undisputed champion, it would be a good idea for the Australian to hunt around for the best-paying fight rather than taking a needless match has no meaning.
Good options for Kambosos:
Gervonta Davis
Ryan Garcia
Vasily Lomacheneko
Teofimo Lopez – a rematch
Shakur Stevenson
Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr.
For anyone trying to rob @georgekambosos of being called undisputed champion, here’s clarity from the same guy, @wbcmoro, who created this mess in the first place: pic.twitter.com/nLlxDagPBD
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) December 1, 2021
“I came in there for business, won the fight, and took everything off of him,” said Kambosos Jr. to TheRingDigital on his win over Teofimo. “We took over the Takeover and I have all the belts. It really was like Rocky movie, like Rocky 4.
“I said, ‘They’re booing me now but they’ll applaud me by the end of this fight,'” said Kambosos on what was going through his mind when he stepped foot inside the ring last Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
“In the first round, I knew he’d come out emotional, I knew he’d be crazy trying to land that big shot to take me out and I knew he’d make a mistake. I put him down, but I’m happy he got up. If I put him down and put him to sleep with that shot, people would have said it was a ‘lucky shot.’
“The speed, explosiveness, and footwork, I showed it all, ” said Kambosos. “I believe he [Teofimo] was concussed [after the fight]. I hit him with some bad intentions shots that were brutal that would have taken out a lot of other lightweights. There were a lot of big shots and bodywork, and I said I would.
“I can’t be angry at the kid. It’s part of the moment,” said Kambosos on Teofimo saying afterward that he felt he had done enough to win a wide 12 round decision by the scores 10-2. “He probably regrets it and he probably lost a lot of fans because of it.
“What was I going to do? Attack him? I just beat him up and took his belts off him,” said Kambosos on what was going through his mind when Teofimo was standing next to him during the post-fight interview, claiming that he’d done enough to win.
“I let him say what he wants. He’s a very good fighter, very skillful and the speed is good too. My style is totally different from Lomachenko’s. That’s the kind of fighter I am. It’s all or nothing. There is no surrender.
“If I didn’t get that knockdown [in the tenth], I wouldn’t have been able to show how great I am, and then come back and have the best round in round eleven and bust him up.
“I’m so excited. The world is going crazy and I just got the biggest win of my life. The rounds [of sparring with Manny Pacquiao] gave me that boost back then. I could beat anybody,” said Kambosos.
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