Via Sean Jones: Andre Ward says George Kambosos Jr is a “confused man” preparing for a rematch with Devin Haney this Saturday night at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. The event will be shown in the US at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+.
Ward noted that Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs) is making excuses and he sees it as a bad look, especially as he changes coaches for the rematch against Haney (28-0, 15). KO).
Andre says that if there was ever a time for the former unified lightweight champion Kambosos to beat Haney, it was their bout last June in Melbourne.
It was Kambosos’ golden opportunity to beat Haney in front of a crowd of 41, 129 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. Kambosos didn’t have an answer to Haney’s stab in that fight, and he didn’t think there would be one this time either.
With Haney working out his punch power and it’s pretty clear that his goal for this fight is to take out Kambosos in front of his own Australian fans at Rod Laver Arena.
That would be the most unflattering cut for Kambosos, but what can you do? He’s up against it to fight younger, faster people, and dare I say Haney is more talented.
A morale win for Kambosos would see him survive 12 rounds without the humiliation of a knockout loss to his Aussie fans.
In order for Kambosos to see the final bell, he’ll go into survival mode early, and stink the joint by squeezing, grappling, and running around the ring.
We will probably hear a lot of boos from the fans in attendance. Rod Laver Arena has 14,820 fans, but it remains questionable whether many will join the fray due to Kambosos’ disappointing loss to Haney last June.
Many fans jumped off the Kambosos ship, and they won’t be back on Saturday to see him lose again.
“Haney and Kambosos, you’re calling war,” Max Kellerman told ESPN. “Haney was fighting behind an overwhelming hit and boxing excellence in the first stint. What do you expect from the rematch? “
Andre Ward said: “I expected Devin Haney to do the same, but let’s do it a little better this time. “You have to realize that everything Devin Haney brought into the first fight.
“He traveled the world dealing with time zones, dealing with riotous fans. The Australian fans are great fans because he doesn’t know if his father will be there or not, his head coach.
“In the eleventh hour, his father was able to get there. It’s a lot of mental pressure and stress that a boxer has to deal with the biggest fight of your life on your way abroad, and he’s handled that and taken care of his business. .
“If Kambosos was going to catch Haney, I think that would be that night. I’m not sure Kambosos can do much more, Max. He will try harder, but what can he do to be smarter?
“I don’t think he has that in him. He changed coaches. He’s making a lot of excusesand when I heard Kambosos talk, I see a confused man who is looking for answers, and Devin Haney, I believe, will become one too. He’s going to be so much better the second time around,” Ward said.
“Yeah, I don’t know what he’ll do with that stick [jab],” Kellerman said of Kambosos. “Haney put that stick on him.
“How are you going to learn to get through a stab at that level with defensive skills between matches when you’ve just been completely knocked out by him? Kellerman said.
