Haney & Kambosos discuss their fight

By Boxing News - 10/16/2022 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: In a show of good sportsmanship, undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) discussed the fight with George Kambosos Jr (20-2, 10 KOs) after beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision in the rematch last Saturday night at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

Kambosos fought more aggressively in the rematch than he had in the first fight, but ultimately, he was overmatched by the more technical Haney.

Like the first fight between them, Haney landed a lot of jabs & held to keep Kambosos from getting his punches off. But in a different twist, Haney connected with many hard right hands, and out-slugged Kambosos, beating him at his own game.

Kambosos suffered a bad cut over his left eye in the 10th and bleeding badly. Haney was cut on the side of his right eye, but it wasn’t as bad as Kambosos’ injury.

The judges’ scores are 119-109, 118-110, and 118-110. Haney’s victory over Kambosos closes the chapter for the two, as Devin dominates both fights, making it pointless for them ever to battle again.

The only reason Haney fought Kambosos this time was because the Aussie had wisely included a rematch clause in the contract for their first fight last June.

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I should definitely be on the pound-for-pound rankings,” Devin Haney said after the fight. “In the first fight, they said that all I had was my jab. Today I came in and showed them my right hand.”

Haney interestingly failed to mention Vasyl Lomachenko after the fight, which could indicate that he’s going to reject his promoters at Top Rank’s idea of matching him against the talented Ukrainian next.

If Haney were truly interested in fighting Lomachenko, he would have immediately mentioned wanting to fight him. Instead, Haney made a blanket comment afterward, saying he’s ready for all comers.

It’s unknown who Haney will fight if he chooses not to face Lomachenko because he needs to face popular fighters to bring in ratings on ESPN and increase the subscriber base on ESPN+.

Assuming Haney will stay at 135 for his next fight, these are his best options if he’s not going to fight Lomachenko:

  • Shakur Stevenson
  • Michel Rivera
  • Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz
  • William Zepeda

“I showed how versatile I am. I came to Australia not once but twice,” said Haney. “I honored it and beat the man twice in his hometown. I definitely deserve to be in the pound-for-pound rankings.

We take on all comers. No matter who it is, we want to fight the best fighters in the world. I believe I’m the best fighter in the world. Whoever is next, bring him on.”