By Sean Jones: Moments ago, Top Rank announced the rematch between undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney and George Kambosos Jr for October 15th on ESPN in Melbourne, Australia.
With the slogan, ‘Repeat or Revenge,’ Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) will be defending his IBF, WBA, WBC & WBO 135-lb titles in a rematch against former unified champion Kambosos Jr (20-1, 10 KOs) at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of fan interest in the Haney-Kambosos II rematch, as Devin already schooled the little emperor last June, beating him by an easy 12 round unanimous decision in Melbourne by the scores 116-112, 118-110, and 116-112.
The only reason there’s a second fight is that the one-hit wonder Kambosos had a rematch clause in the contract, so he’s used it to get a second shot against Haney.
Given how one-sided their previous fight was, fans, not surprisingly, have no desire to see a second mismatch.
People want to see Haney face former three-division world champion Vasyl Lomachenko, Ryan Garcia, and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis next rather than another one-sided fight between Devin and Kambosos.
There’s no word about the Haney-Kambosos II rematch being shown on PPV in the U.S, which is a good thing because boxing fans aren’t going to pay to see this albatross again.
Haney easily dominated Kambosos Jr with his jab last time out, keeping him bottled up on the outside the entire fight and unable to land his sneaky right hand.
“George Kambosos is quiet right now like he should have been before our first fight. I wish him a healthy training camp,” Haney said. “I’m expecting a hungry and determined Kambosos on October 16th in Melbourne. I will be prepared for any adjustment he brings. This is a great opportunity to gain more Aussie fans and add to my legacy.”
As bad as Kambosos looked against Haney, it tells you how flawed Teofimo Lopez is because he lost to the Australian. The way Kambosos looked, he would be easy pickings for most of the top 15 in the division.
The ratings for the U.S audience likely won’t be high for the Haney-Kambosos II fight, as there’s no demand for this fight from fans.
This is probably it for Kambosos in terms of him ever getting another world title shot in his career. It’s fair to say that if Haney schools Kambosos again, he’ll never fight for another world title again because for him to do that, he would need to beat one or two top contenders. I don’t think he’s capable of doing that.
