By Sean Jones: Devin Haney is unconcerned about fighting Australian George Kambosos Jr. in front of his own fans on June 5th in their undisputed lightweight championship in Melbourne, Australia.
WBC 135-lb champion Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) believes he will turn the boos into cheers by winning over the Australian fans with a victory over their hero Kambosos Jr (20-0, 10 KOs), who holds the IBF, WBA, WBC Franchise & WBO lightweight titles.
The Haney – Kambosos Jr. will be headlining on June 5th at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Kambosos Jr has gone from being an obscure contender in the lightweight division to an overnight star with his upset 12-round split decision victory over the popular four-belt champion Teofimo Lopez last November in New York.
Now it’s to Kambosos, 28, to prove that he’s not a one-hit-wonder, which many boxing fans see as his ultimate fate.
If that’s the case, Kambosos will at least wind up as a wealthy man and will be able to live comfortably with the millions he makes for his two fights with Haney.
“It was pretty hostile but that’s boxing,” WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney said to the Australian Associated Press. “The boos are the boos no matter how many people and it’s something that I’m used to.
“I look forward to turning the boos into cheers when I come up victorious, that’s the goal. Just like I did when I was in Tijuana,” Haney said.
Haney isn’t the fight that Kambosos wanted for his first contest as the four-belt champion at 135. He had been planning on defending against former three-division world champion Vasyl Lomachenko, but unfortunately, the Russian invasion of Ukraine wrecked those plans.
The talented Ukrainian Lomachenko opted to stay in Ukraine to defend against the Russians, which removed him from the equation for a well-paying clash against Kambosos.
It’s believed by some boxing fans that Kambosos isn’t eager to face the highly skilled Haney because of his technical ability, which is the kryptonite to the skills that he brings to the ring.
If you were to create a fighter with the expertise to defeat Kambosos, you would wind up with Haney. He’s the worst possible opponent a fighter like Kambosos could face, so it’s understandable why the Australian isn’t thrilled at the idea of fighting him.
What makes it worse for Kambosos is the youth of the 23-year-old Haney and the fact that he’s not a highly accomplished fighter like Lomachenko and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. For this reason, losing to Haney will result in Kambosos’s credibility taking a major hit.
Of course, Kambosos will still make millions from his two fights with Haney, so it’ll be one of those situations where can cry all the way to the bank afterward.
“I’m looking forward to embracing the crowd in Australia and I’m looking forward to the energy the arena is going to bring so it’s not going to be a bad thing,” said Haney, putting a positive spin on him fighting Kambosos in his backyard in Melbourne.
