By Allan Fox: George Kambosos Jr. is excited about how fast the tickets are selling for his undisputed lightweight championship fight against Devin Haney on June 5th at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Unified four-belt 135-lb champion Kambosos Jr. (20-0, 10 KOs) has revealed that all the ringside tickets have already sold out within the first 30 hours after going on sale, and the corporate suites have also sold out for the 60,000 seat Marvel Stadium.
Based on the early ticket sales success, 28-year-old Kambosos is predicting his fight with Haney will be the biggest in Australian boxing history.
Interestingly, despite Kambosos Jr. being the IBF/WBA/WBC Franchise/WBO champion with the majority of the belts, the oddsmakers have the 23-year-old WBC champion Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) as the early favorite.
Kambosos says he’s not worried about being the underdog right now, as he believes the betting margins will narrow as the contest gets closer, and eventually, it’ll be even by June 5th.
Kambosos unbothered about the underdog role
“Maybe a little bit of both, but I don’t really fall into the numbers when it comes to the betting,” said Kambosos to Fighthype in reacting to being told that the oddsmakers have Haney as the favorite.
Ringside tickets all sold out within 30 hours 🤯 All corporate suites sold out aswell. They have now added more rows, 10-13 ringside due to demand! General Admission out April 22nd!!! Biggest fight in Aus history 🇦🇺👊🏻 The roof on @marvelstadiumau is about to be blown off!!!
— George “Ferocious” Kambosos Jr (@georgekambosos) April 6, 2022
“I’ll fight in front of one person or 60,000 people; it doesn’t bother me,” continued Kambosos. “A lot of people are going to get rich again like they did with the [Teofimo] Lopez fight,” said Kambosos when asked why the bettors have Haney as the favorite.
“It doesn’t really bother me. It’s fine. The betting companies will do it their way, and I’m sure with this fight as the fight gets closer with both guys. It’ll come very close maybe even, but the underdog continues to stay at the top.
“That’s what motivates me, that’s what excites me,” said Kambosos, putting a positive spin on being the underdog against Devin. “When we talk about motivation, it’s not just one belt. It’s everything.
“It’s a big core thing of proving the doubters wrong, continuing to show that the underdog can get to the top and do it his way, winning the belts, and setting up my kids and family for life,” Kambosos said.
It would be a good idea for Kambosos to look at why the oddsmakers have installed Haney as the favorite rather than seeing them as having gotten it wrong.
Until Kambosos’ win over an injured & weight drained Teofimo Lopez Jr. last November 27th, his best wins were narrow split decision victories over faded fighters Mickey Bey & Lee Selby.
Those were close wins for Kambosos against old guys that were nowhere near the top level. Many boxing fans believe that if Teofimo had been injury-free, not fighting the weight, he would have soundly beaten Kambosos last November.
Will Haney break under pressure?
“You got back to people saying, ‘Haney is only getting this, and Kambosos is getting all that.’ Yeah, better in my pocket for my kids than in his pocket,” said Kambosos Jr.
“I’m here as a man trying to provide for my family, so there’s a lot of motivation there, a lot of inspiration. I keep doing what I do best.
“I know my game plan, I know what I have to do, and what I bring to the table every time. That pressure, that speed, that power, that explosiveness, that movement, that footwork, and my defense, which is very underrated that I have. We’ll let them keep underrating us.
“I know this pressure is going to be too much for him,” said Kambosos with his prediction that Haney will break from his constant pressure on June 5th. “It’s very simple. He’s going to drown.
“12 rounds, he would drown. I’ve got 60,000 people going to be there in attendance. So obviously, we’ll be pushing the fight, and let’s hope he’ll be the man and goes out on his shield and tries to push the fight as well.
“If he runs, beautiful. I’ll hunt him down and break him down, and it’s going to be a savage beat down. I’m prepared for whatever he brings to the table like I’ve prepared for in every single fight that I’ve had.
“I’ve had to face whatever adversity, ready to move from game plan A, B, D, D, all the way through the alphabet. That’s how good my game plans and boxing abilities are.
“Let’s see. I’m sure it’s going to be a very exciting fight. I’m sure with the crowd that we’re going to bring to this stadium fight, that there, that noise that excitement, it’s going to get him jumping a little bit too.
“I’m sure he’s going to take a little risk, and we will meet in that fight, and I’m sure it’s going to break out,” said Kambosos when asked if he was afraid that Haney won’t engage.
It’s difficult to imagine Kambosos, a non-puncher, breaking Haney with the pressure that he puts on him. Haney has too much size, skills, and ring savvy to fold with the pressure that Kambosos puts on him.
It’s clear that Kambosos will need to put constant pressure on Haney if he wants to have a shot at winning the fight because he’s going to get outboxed if he stays on the outside, trying to win a decision.
