By: Sean Crose
George Kambosos, usually a gregarious sort, has been rather quiet in the leadup to his rematch Devin Haney, the man who took his lightweight titles from him last June. Haney, who has once again traveled to Kambosos’ native Australia to face him, doesn’t let the sound of silence trouble him. “The greats find motivation by any means necessary,” he told FightHype in an interview. Kambosos was never expected to be a great force at lightweight, but he became unified champion by stunning the then red hot Teofimo Lopez in late 2021, thus letting the world know he was someone to be reckoned with.
And Haney did in fact reckon with Kambosos, in Kambosos’ homeland no less, when the two men battled for the undisputed lightweight championship of the world last June. Much as Kambosos had outstrategized Lopez, Haney outstrategized Kambosos. Needless to say, the fight world is essentially expecting a replay of the first fight when the two men answer the bell Saturday at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. Haney, however, isn’t taking his determined foil for granted. “It was a blessing to fight on that big stage,” he said of first battle with Kambosos, “and I look forward to doing it again.”
Haney knows Kambosos is too smart a fighter to employ a failed game plan twice, so he’s essentially prepared himself for any contingency on Saturday. “I know he’s going to come with a different approach,” Haney said of Kambosos, “a different game plan this time around.” To be sure, Haney feels like Kambosos is certainly going to leave it all in the ring this weekend. “He’s desperate,” said Haney. “He said if he didn’t win he’s going to retire. He’s coming balls to the wall.” Besides, Haney is a fighter who always sees room for improvement. “We always feel it could get better,” he told FightHype.
Provided Kambosos doesn’t stun the world on Saturday – and it’s worth noting he has arguably done just that already by beating Teofimo Lopez a few years back – a huge and notable lineup of talent possibly awaits Haney right around the corner. Whether it’s Vasyl Lomachenko, Ryan Garcia or Gervonta Davis, a major bout with a top name is possibly just a contract away. This being modern boxing, however, there’s always the question of whether or not any of those contracts would actually be signed. To their credit, boxers are a lot safer than they used to be, but they’re simply not as ambitious as they once were either.