By Sean Jones: George Kambosos Jr says he’s happy with underdog status against undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney on Saturday night at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs) says he feels at home when boxing fans believe he has “no chance” and he can’t wait to “prove all of them wrong.” People see Kambosos as having no chance against Haney because he looked terribly inept last time.
For Kambosos, it’s par for the course for him to be bragging about how he’s going to win, as he did this last time he fought Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) and ended up getting embarrassed.
It would be a major shock if Kambosos were to win this fight because very few people are giving him any chance whatsoever to pull off the upset because he was dominated so badly by Haney last time.
This week, Kambosos talked about the clinching that Haney did the last time they fought.
It appeared that Kambosos was using that as the excuse for why he lost the fight, and that was just hard to believe because the holding that Haney did had nothing to do with the outcome.
The bit about Kambosos “proving them wrong once again” is an odd comment because he’s only proven fans wrong once, which was against an injured Teofimo Lopez.
The rest of the guys that Kambosos has fought during his career weren’t good enough to view him as a big underdog.
Up until Kambosos beat the sickly Teofimo, his best wins were over the faded veteran’s Mickey Bey & Lee Selby. Those fights attracted little interest from fans because they were low-level affairs.
“I feel a lot of energy, very relaxed, and very zoned in. Like I said, I’m a fighter. I’m not trying to be anything else,” said George Kambosos on Wednesday in talking to the media.
“We’re coming for victory, that’s all. I don’t need no suits; I don’t need no fancy stuff. I’m George Kambosos; I’m a fighter. When I went back to that dressing room, my mindset changed right away.
“I’m the challenger again. I wasn’t upset. I was in a familiar place, and this is where I’ve been most of my career. Doubt me, no problem. I love when they doubt me. When they think I have no chance, no problem. We’ll prove them wrong once again.
“Role models to the world of boxing. Love me or hate me, within a year, three undisputed fights. No matter what they say, back to back to back, and I’ll continue this trend. That’s what it’s about.
“I give my blood to this sport. As long as I can do it, I’ll fight to the highest level and beat the highest level. We’ve come with a fantastic game plan, and we’re ready for whatever he brings.
“If it’s the Arturo Gatti style he wants to bring to us, which I doubt very highly. Let’s see on Sunday what he tries. Man to man, let’s fight. I’ve got a small team. I don’t have too much of an entourage, but I’ve got a team I’m very blessed to have and I’m very comfortable with.
“Like I said, I’ve taken it old school. I’ve gone back to my roots, and I’ve gone back to what got me here. That’s what matters,” said Kambosos.
