Via Sean Jones: Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney says he doesn’t need to give George Kambosos Jr a rematch and that he could have vacated his four belts and moved up to 140 to campaign in that weight class.
Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) chose to stay at 135 and give the Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs) a rematch as part of their contract. The two will go head to head this Saturday night, October 15, in a battle at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
For the impoverished Kambosos, this is probably the last chance he gets to fight for a world title, so he’ll need to make the most of it.
If Kambosos loses, he will either retire or be pushed far down the leaderboard at 135 and in a position where he will need to scratch & swipe his way to try to win another title.
Kambosos will need to beat two or three solid contenders in the top 10, like Shakur Stevenson, Isaac Cruz, Ryan Garcia, Joseph Diaz and Michel Rivera.
Let’s face it, Kambosos won’t beat any of those contenders, so Saturday night could be the end for him unless he deals with his great sadness by beat Haney.
“However, are they really? I think they’re waiting for me to vacate,” Devin Haney told Secondsout when informed that everyone in the light detachment was waiting for him.
“No, that’s not what I was thinking,” Haney said when asked if he wanted to make Vasyl Lomachenko wait for a title shot the way Loma kept him waiting.
“I don’t really care about making him wait or not making him wait. Right now, my main focus is on George Kambosos, and then if everything makes sense and I can get my weight back, strong, we can move on,” Haney said of Lomachenko.
“Boxing is not a fair game. I do not think that. ‘He made me wait, so I’ll make him wait.’ I want to make the biggest fight happen. I care about legacy, and I care about everything that makes sense.
“The greats defended the belt. Pernell Whitaker defended his belt without question, so that’s my goal. Obviously, we know I’m big for the weight class. I’m just getting bigger. So we’ll see how long I can protect the belt. I certainly look forward to protecting them.
“I wouldn’t say it’s someone I have to beat to get ahead. It’s about the pubic body and what it can lose and in the weight class. It’s not about hitting a specific person because I hit someone.
“As Tyson Fury would say, I am the linear champion. I could have moved up already. I don’t even have to respect the rematch, but I did. We have to see how I feel after this.
“I’m looking forward to staying in lightweight, but we’ll see,” Haney said.
