By Mark Eisner: As many expected, WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) was too technical for unified champion George Kambosos Jr. (20-1, 10 KOs) in winning an easy 12 round unanimous decision to become the undisputed 135-lb champion on Saturday night at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
The scores were 116-112, 116-112, and 118-110. Boxing News 24 had it for Haney 118-110. Kambosos eating jabs all night long, and showing no plan B or any ability to adapt to what the 23-year-old Haney was doing.
The fight showed that Kambosos wasn’t the guy that many had thought he was after his upset win over the injured Teofimo Lopez last November.
- Undefeated heavyweight Hemi Ahio (19-0, 14 KOs) defeated Christian Tsoye (5-5-2, 4 KOs) by second-round stoppage.
- Bantamweight former world title challenger Jason Moloney (24-2, 19 KOs) looked solid tonight, stopping the always tough Aston Palicte (28-5-1, 23 KOs) in the third round. The 31-year-old Australian Maloney knocked Palicte down twice in round three to get the TKO win. Referee Ignatius Missailidis stopped the fight at 2:35 of the third. The win for Moloney was his third straight since being massacred by Naoya Inoue in 2020. Moloney is a good fighter, but not on the level of talented fighters like Inoue, Nonito Donaire, Gary Antonio Russell, or John Reil Casimero.
- Former WBA heavyweight champion Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne (31-3, 27 KOs) surprisingly knocked out Junior Fa (19-2, 10 KOs) in the first round. The 32-year-old Fa made it easy on the glacially slow Browne by standing in front of him. Browne took advantage of the big stationery Fa by knocking him down twice. The time of the stoppage was at 1:15 of the first.
Preview – Kambosos must make it a dog fight
After weeks of back and forth trash-talk, unified lightweight champion Kambosos 20-0, 10 KOs) and WBC champion Haney (27-0, 15 KOs)
“It doesn’t feel like that long ago that I did it, but at the same time, it feels like ages ago,” said 34-year-old former WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn to Fighthype.
“Life is going good, and I think George can definitely emulate that and win a massive world title fight in Australia as well. He’s already done it overseas.
“I guess he hasn’t done a stadium fight before,” Horn said of Kambosos Jr. “It’s his home country, and everyone is here to support him. I think he can feel the love, I’ve seen him just then.
“He seems pretty relaxed, which is great. He’s not wasting any energy prior to the fight, and I think he’s got it. I’m hoping he’s got it anyway. I think he’s got to push the fight as he did against Teofimo, and I think Haney is a very good boxer, so Joe has got to outwork him.
“George has got the skills as well to box, but I think he’s got to rough him up. Get in there and make it a dogfight,” said Horn.
“Devin Haney all the way, and I won’t be wrong. Devin Haney big time,” said trainer Andre Rozier to Fighthype. “I like Kambosos. We actually fought Kambosos, Mickey Bey, and myself, and I thought we edged it. This was a person that hadn’t been in the ring for quite some time.
“Devin is ready to go. I think Devin is going to box circles around Kambosos. There was so much going on in Teo’s life, which is a shame that he was distracted, unfocused,” said Rozier when asked if he was surprised that Kambosos defeated Teofimo Lopez last November.
“Unfortunately, even the best of us have to be on point. If you’re not, you’re going to come up short,” said Rozier.
George Kambosos Jr. faces a tough test in unbeaten Devin Haney for the undisputed 135-lb championship tonight at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Kambosos, 28, missed weight on Friday, but he eventually came in at 134.5 lbs. He attributed his weight difficulties to the “Art of War” games he’s been playing.