Via Matt Lieberman: Devin Haney and George Kambosos Jr will likely meet for the undisputed lightweight championship in May in Australia. That’s what the promoter of the WBC 135-lb champion, Eddie Hearn, said on Wednesday.
If Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn can close the deal, Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) will head to Australia to face Kambosos Jr. (20-0, 10 KOs) for his IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight titles in May.
Haney, 23, says he’s not interested in the Kambosos Franchise belt. He just wants three other titles in the Kambosos collection so he can claim the title of undisputed lightweight champion.
Top-ranked Vasily Lomachenko remains a potential pick for Kambosos to fight, but it will require a substantial offer on the part of his promoter to make the Australian go in that direction. .
Kambosos will have the home field advantage
“It was a war. You’ve got an entire debate about who’s the undisputed and who’s the champion,” Hearn said. Time MMA about a possible war between Haney and Kambosos.
“The only way we can deal with that is for those two to fight each other. It was a natural fight,” Hearn continued about a possible clash between Kambosos Jr. and Haney.
“Devin has agreed to come to Australia for George Kambosos’ backyard fight. We have to make it happen. I love George, what a wonderful guy. A great win against Teofimo [Lopez] at the garden [in New York]and he wants his fight in Australia,” Hearn said.
The benefit of the Haney vs Kambosos fight is that the winner will keep all four belts at lightweight, and there won’t be any guesswork on who’s number 1.
If winner Kambosos-Haney picks at 135, they could defend their four belts against these stellar fighters:
- Ryan Garcia
- Vasily Lomachenko
- Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis
- Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero
- Isaac Cruz
Former WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt is advancing 135 in his next bout and we could soon have Shakur Stevenson and Jamel Herring also going through.
“He was like a free network agent,” Hearn said of Kambosos. “There are two wars for him [Kambosos]. There’s Lomachenko on ESPN and there’s Haney fighting for DAZN.
“I think they will [Team Kambosos] think Haney is easier to beat than Lomachenko, and he has that belt that will answer all the undisputed questions,” said Hearn.
Kambosos, 28, may be a bit inexperienced for boxer Lomachenko right now. If Loma is 100% healthy, he can hardly beat anyone on the team, especially a green gladiator like Kambosos.
The Australian boxer beat Teofimo Lopez Jr last November, but it was an ideal situation for the Kambosos. Teofimowas was injured, lost weight and had to miss a year.
“George is not afraid,” Hearn said. “George will fight any of those guys, and hopefully Devin Haney gets the call so then we can have a clear champion in the league,” Hearn said.
Kambosos seems less motivated about the idea of being undisputed at 135 than getting the best deal possible. Haney’s promoter needs to make sure he understands what’s really important to Kambosos because he’s not going to convince him to take on Haney by promoting the undisputed angle on money.
“May, I think back to Haney and Kambosos. The numbers have already started to rise in Australia for COVID, so it’s like taking April out of the equation,” Hearn said.
“I think May. Devin was here last night. He is 23 years old. He can really fight. think this kid is a real young superstar. He’s ready,” Hearn said.
As for the Kambosos vs Haney match taking place in May, it will depend on the number of Covid-19 in Australia.
