By Dan Ambrose: Unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. says he’s going to “strip” Devin Haney of his WBC title and his “career” on June 5th when they meet for the undisputed championship at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Kambosos Jr. (20-0, 10 KOs) says June 5th can’t get here quick enough because he wants to beat Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) to pick up his “half piece” of the WBC lightweight title to earn the right to call himself the undisputed champion in the division.
Despite missing the last piece in the puzzle with the WBC strap, Kambosos Jr. has been referring to himself as the “undisputed champion” at lightweight. Still, he’s technically one title short of earning that prestigious achievement.
But like the champion before him, Teofimo Lopez, Kambosos still says he’s the undisputed champion. To be sure, it’s a little strange, but Kambosos takes after Teofimo with his supreme confidence, so it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that he’s embellishing his credentials a bit.
“I’m the undisputed champion of the world, and I’ve got all these beautiful belts, but that’s not what it’s about,” said George Kambosos Jr. “It’s about my legacy and the love of the sport and the love of fighting. I love to fight.
“If Devin Haney walked through that door right now, I would fight right now. Get in the ring, and we’ll fight right now. That’s how well I prepare for these big fights.
“June 5th is just another day in my life. Every fight is my toughest fight. I take it that I’m fighting the best of the best. Devin Haney is a good name, a big name in the sport of boxing.
“He holds that half a piece, and I can’t wait to not only strip him of that half a piece but to strip him of his career as I’ve done with so many prior opponents that I’ve had. Hardest fight? We’ll see June 5th, but for me, I stay focused and hungry at what I do best.
“I’m very excited because this will settle the score for the belt that he’s been gifted that he never had the pleasure of winning inside of the ropes,” Kambosos said of Haney.
“This is the perfect opponent. They talk about the ‘Four Kings.’ Well, I took out the main guy in Teofimo Lopez. We all know that Lomachenko was supposed to happen, and that shows the kind of fighter I am.
“Unfortunately, Lomachenko couldn’t be here. So give me the next best guy. I could have fought anyone. Haney is not my mandatory. I could have fought anybody, but I wanted Devin Haney. Let’s get this deal done, and we did it. We got the deal done; we got it across the line.
“We’re here for June 5th, no return. I just can’t wait because on June 5th, it’s on,” said Kambosos.
