By Adam Baskin: Bill Haney is predicting that George Kambosos Jr is going to have even more problems with undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney than he did last June when he lost in a one-sided fight in Melbourne, Australia.
Bill says Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) has made improvement since beating Kambosos by a 12 round unanimous decision in their fight last Summer, and he’s going to show that this Saturday, October 15th, when they meet or their rematch at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. The broadcast will start at 10:30 p.m. ET live on ESPN and ESPN+.
Kambosos has a new game plan that he’ll be trying out, and it’s going to need to be a good one for him to have a shot at defeating Haney. The last time they fought, Kambosos had no answers for the jabs that Haney was repeatedly hitting him with, and he could do nothing on the inside.
Many boxing fans see a Haney victory as a forgone conclusion, and they’re already looking forward to seeing him defend against former three-division world champion Vasyl Lomachenko next.
A fight between Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) and Haney will be a big one, and it’ll be interesting to see which of the two comes out on top.
Kambosos needs to have a plan B, C, D & E on Saturday night because he didn’t adapt the last time he fought Haney, which was too easy for him.
“We put in the world, and we’ve tried to maintain a loose, fun atmosphere of when we’re not training just to keep Devin’s spirits well,” said Bill Haney to Fighthype about his son Devin in his attitude heading into his rematch with George Kambosos Jr on Saturday night.
“No matter what Kambosos is doing, October 16th will be the day that he’ll face the fighter that he had problems with that he’s going to have even more problems based on Devin’s growth in the last few months.
“Lou DiBella assured me that we’re going to get the next and best fight available if we get through this,” said Bill when asked about the possibility of Haney fighting Vasyl Lomachenko next if he defeats Kambosos on Saturday.
“First things first is George. I’d hate to underestimate George by any stretch of the imagination. I’d hate to fool the people that we’re looking past him. We got him and a whole host of great fights to be made, but first off is October the 16th.
“Initially, I used to believe that it was going to be a one-sided affair between Tank and Ryan. But after talking to Devin and watching Ryan’s last fight and watching Tank, it’s even closer, maybe even a 50-50 fight,” said Bill when asked about his prediction on a fight between Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Ryan Garcia.
“Maybe Ryan with a slight edge due to him at 140 being a quicker, faster, stronger 140 than [Mario] Barrios, and actually seeing Barrios give Tank the rounds that he did. Like I said, initially, I would have given Tank the rounds that I did, but now I lean more towards Ryan if I had to give anyone.
“Absolutely, Ryan is one of the fighters in the lightweight division that you’re seeing get better,” said Bill when asked to assess Ryan Garcia’s recent victory over Javier Fortuna.
“Everyone tends to talk about him. I’m happy to see that he’s gotten back to himself that the Ryan that I know him to be up through the amateurs. He comes from good parenting. His mom and dad have been with him since day one.
“So it’s good to see him not have any mental health issues and just getting back to being the old Ryan,” said Bill.
