By: Sean Crose
“It has been a long, hard journey,” George Kambosos Jr. said in the final press conference before his fight with Devin Haney this weekend. “Everyone knows that, but I’m ready for Sunday. All the tough moments have gotten me ready for Sunday, and I will shock the world again. Underdog? Beautiful. We are ready.” The 20-0 Kambosos surprised a lot of people when he won the WBO, IBF, and WBA lightweight titles off of Teofimo Lopez last year. Now the 27-0 American Haney has gone to Kambosos’ Australian homeland to lift those titles from him. “More than 40,000 fans are expected,” states Top Rank, the promotional outlet behind the bout, “as the 23-year-old Haney attempts to make history more than 8,000 miles from home.”
It’s certainly an interesting fight between two big talents, one of the more relevant matchups so far this year, in fact. Kambosos will enter the ring feeling confident that his experience has made him well prepared. “I’ve been through it all,” he said at the press conference, “so whatever comes to the table on Sunday, we’ll be ready. We’ll be fully prepared. We are warriors. Whatever way we have to go, we are prepared.”
Haney too exuded confidence at the press conference. “This is the biggest stage,” he said, “but this is something that I have dreamed of. I knew that one day I would be here, but I didn’t think that it would come this early, but I’m thankful. It’s time.” To Haney, the whole thing comes down to ability. “I feel like I’m the far better fighter,” he told the media. “I have far more skills than him. I will show him on Sunday. It’s for me to show in the ring. The betting odds really don’t matter because I will show you no matter what they say. I’m levels above him.”
Promoter Bob Arum apparently couldn’t be more pleased with the bout. “This should be a terrific match,” he said. “These two young men are at the top of their game. They each have a lot of pride. George Kambosos beat Teofimo Lopez, a fight he was not expected to win based on the so-called experts, but he won that fight and won all of these belts. Devin Haney is one of our bright young fighters in the United States who has attracted a lot of attention and always gives a great performance. Both guys are undefeated. This is what boxing is all about, and it should be a terrific match.”
