Haney vs. Kambosos 2 Preview
The unified lightweight titles will be on the line in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday October 15th. Champion Devin Haney and former champion George Kambosos Jr. will run in it back in an immediate rematch to prove who the best lightweight in the world really is.
The two last fought in June at Marvel Stadium in Kambosos’s home country with Haney winning by unanimous decision. Haney (28-0, 15 KO) has been the WBC lightweight champion since 2019 and will be defending as a unified champion for the first time.
Haney believes that Kambosos felt the pressure of fighting in front of his Australian fans in their first fight. “His trash talk played against him,” said Haney. “Everything he said he was going to do, he couldn't do, he didn't do and it worked against him.”
“I feel like Australia has taken me in as one of my own.”
“George has made it easier for Australia to latch onto me.”
“He is a bit quiet this time. I don't know if it's something strategic or what, but at the end of the day, I will do what I do, whether he is talking loud or he's not.”
Haney is carrying a high level of championship confidence after the result of the first fight. “Everything I said I would do in the first fight I did.”
The 23-year-old believes he will remain champion because he is the better fighter.
“I have been polishing my tools since the first fight,” Haney said.
“I am ready for whatever George brings to the table.”
Despite being confident, Haney knows that Kambosos is still dangerous. “I will be a better version this time around. I will beat him because it's part of the game, George wants what I've got and that's the belts. Kambosos has a solid team but on the night I was the better fighter and it won't be any different on October 16.”
“Kambosos claims he's been silent this time around because the rematch 'sells itself' and he's confident he's made all the changes needed to get his belts back.”
Aside from Kambosos, Haney has key victories in his young career over Joseph Diaz, Jorge Linares, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Zaur Abdullaev. Many pundits believe Kambosos only has a punchers chance after Haney pulverized him with the jab in the first fight. However, Kambosos will be bringing a different hunger into this fight so Haney will need to stick to a solid gameplan of outboxing Kambosos again which will protect him from power punches, should Kambosos decide to throw them.
Kambosos suffered the first loss of his career (20-1, 10 KO) against Haney in what was the first defense of his titles. He became champion in 2021 with a shocking split decision win over Teofimo Lopez.
“It's going to be sweeter this time, getting them back and becoming a two-time undisputed champion,' Kambosos said.
“This here is serious legacy, not only in Australian boxing but world boxing. This gives me goosebumps, that's why I'm so motivated.”
The Aussie fighter believes he has what it takes to prove all of his doubters wrong. “I know I’m the underdog,” Kambosos said. “A lot of people have written me off, but I have shaken the world before, and I can shake it again. I have copped it from some unqualified idiots, but I haven’t lost my self-belief.
“Yes, he beat me in the first fight, but if someone beats me the first-time playing chess or PlayStation, I will come back straight away. I will study how to beat them until I beat them. It drives me crazy not winning. I know the burden of being a world champion and the curse that comes with holding all those belts.”
The 29-year-old went on to say, “Now he [Haney] is the hunted, and I want to take all the belts off him,” said Kambosos Jr.
The knock on Haney heading into their first fight was power punchers were able to throw him off his game so that is what Kambosos needed to do, but he failed to deliver. In this fight, he will likely have to truly shock the world with a KO in order to get the belts back.
The main card can be seen on ESPN +
