By Sean Jones: Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn says Devin Haney will be a “superstar overnight” should he beat four-belt lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. in April. Given that the casual boxing fans in the U.S have no idea who the Australian fighter Kambosos is right now, it’s nutty to think that Haney will be transformed into a “superstar” after winning that fight.
Kambosos believes that after his win over the injured & weight drained former four-belt 135-lb champion Teofimo Lopez on November 27th, it’s turned him into a big star now.
The British promoter Hearn believes that he’s found a diamond in the rough in Haney that he can turn into the next Mayweather with a win over Kambosos, but he’s going to be sadly disappointed. Kambosos isn’t a big enough name to even put Haney on the map in the United States.
Boxing isn’t the #1 sport in the States, and Haney would need an entire transformation from top to bottom in terms of building his charisma and changing his safety-first fighting style for him to become a star.
For Haney to become a star, he needs to beat these fighters:
- Vasily Lomachenko
- Ryan Garcia
- Shakur Stevenson
- Josh Taylor
- Teofimo Lopez
- Oscar Valdez
- Regis Prograis
- Jose Ramirez
Hearn sounding hopeful with Kambosos-Haney talks
“It’s not close to being signed. There’s a deal that’s been discussed that could get this made. From our side, we’ve got a model we think works,” said Hearn to the DAZN Boxing Show on the negotiations between Haney and Kambosos for an April fight in Australia.
If holding those four titles [IBF, WBA, WBC Franchise & WBO meant that Kambosos was now a star, Haney’s chances of being a “superstar overnight” would be realistic.
Unfortunately, Kambosos isn’t a big name, and holding those four titles hasn’t turned him into another Canelo Alvarez in terms of his popularity.
Other than the hardcore boxing fans, Kambosos is an unknown, which is why it’s pure folly for Hearn to think Haney will be a superstar after beating the four-belt Australian.
Hearn is warning his fighter WBC lightweight champion Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) not to overprice himself for the fight against Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) because he believes the victory will turn him into a “superstar” in the U.S.
It’s a naive belief that Hearn has because Kambosos is NOT a big star in America, and you can argue that he’s not proven himself to be a superstar in his native Australia.
Vasily Lomachenko’s promoter Bob Arum doesn’t seem optimistic that he can set up a fight between Loma and Kambosos. The problem is that the COVID situation in Australia makes things challenging to stage the fight over there, and thus far, Kambosos insisting that he fight in his home country.
While it’s excellent that Kambosos believes that a fight involving him against anybody will sell out a large stadium in Australia, it’s not going to work if the government in that country is capping crowd size to only 50%.
Has Kambosos EVER sold out a stadium?
Does Kambosos have a track record of selling out stadiums in Australia? If not, why would Arum want to gamble on taking his fighter Lomachenko to that country based on the wild-eyed claims from Kambosos, who isn’t a promoter and hasn’t proven that he can sell out a stadium?
Moreover, suppose the Australian government is capping crowd sizes to 50% capacity for sporting events. In that case, there’s no point in Arum and Lomachenko wasting their title competing for a fight against the four-belt champion Kambosos.
Hearn will likely need to take the Kambosos vs. Haney fight and stage it in the United States to maximize the amount of money it can bring in.
Kambosos isn’t going to like it, but if he wants to cash in and make as much money as possible before his four straps are ripped away from him by Haney, he’s going to have to be open-minded about fighting on foreign shores once again.
“There’s a lot of revenue that goes into this pot. We’re all working collectively to make this happen,” said Hearn about the money for a Kambosos vs. Haney fight.
“Devin Haney, the kid’s wise; he’s made a lot of money. He understands the importance of this fight for his career. If you believe you win this fight, don’t price yourself out.
“You win this, you’re undisputed and done it on foreign soil; you become a superstar overnight,” said Hearn.
Haney could become a superstar overnight if the U.S were like a tiny fishbowl that the UK is, but it’s too huge for Haney to become a star from a win over the little-known Kambosos.
The United States is too huge for Haney to star after he relieves Kambosos of his four straps and ends his 15 minutes of small-time fame.
Also, Haney’s fighting style is so incredibly dull. It’s much worse than Floyd Mayweather Jr’s bland fighting style, and because of that, the fans aren’t going to get super excited at watching Devin beat Kambosos.
It’s pretty apparent what Haney will do to lift “team beautiful belts” from Kambosos. He’s going to jab Kambosos, constantly clinch and run around the ring to win a dull 12 round points decision. There’s nothing Kambosos will be able to do about it because he’s not a great talent.
