Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn says they’re closing in on a deal for his fighter WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney to face IBF/WBA/WBC Franchise/WBO champion George Kambosos Jr.
Hearn says that now that Vasyl Lomachenko is fighting a war in Ukraine against the Russians for them invading his country, it’s opened the door for Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) to get the fight against Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) for the undisputed 135-lb championship on June 4th in Melbourne, Australia.
Hearn says that if Haney wins, there will be a rematch so Kambosos will have a chance of winning back his titles, albeit in the United States rather than in Australia.
It’s difficult to take Hearn at face value for his comments about Haney being close to getting the fight with Kambosos, as he’s been saying the exact same thing for the last two months.
All that time it was Lomachenko, not Haney, who was in the pole position to get the fight with Kambosos. If Haney doesn’t get the fight, it’s going to be humorous because Hearn seems so certain that he’ll be the one facing Kambosos next.
It’s a bad match-up for Kambosos to fight a pure boxer like Haney because he’s going to play it safe and stay on the outside, jabbing all night and not giving the Australian much of a chance to land his sneaky counter shots. It could be a really boring fight.
“I believe this fight is going to get to closed,” Hearn said to DAZN Boxing Show when asked about an update on Kambosos Jr vs. Haney. “I think that obviously, the Ukraine situation with Lomachenko rules him out of the mix as well here.
“Talks have been very positive between DAZN and Matchroom, Haney, DAZN, and Lou DiBella. I just feel that we can close this fight and it’s a must-make.
“The undisputed lightweight world championship in a stadium, in Australia, give George Kambosos his day. Give Devin Haney, who I believe is one of the biggest emerging stars in the sport, his opportunity to become the undisputed champion.
“If George wins, we can run it back in America, not a problem,” said Hearn.
Contrary to Hearn’s comment about Haney being “one of the biggest emerging stars,” he’s actually NOT one of the biggest stars.
That’s the reason why Hearn is putting so much energy into getting the fight with Kambosos because he’s hoping that if Haney beats the Australian to become the undisputed champion 135-lb, it would validate him in the eyes of the boxing world, making them believe, perhaps falsely, that he’s the best fighter in the lightweight division.
The reality is that even if Haney beats Kambosos, he still won’t be the best fighter at 135 and not even close. For Haney to be the #1 fighter at 135, he would need to beat Lomachenko and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
That would be a tall order, and it’s likely Haney will lose to both of those guys. However, it’s believed that Haney will vacate the four titles after a rematch with Kambosos and move up to 140 without sticking around to risk his backside against Tank Davis, Lomachenko, or Ryan Garcia.
Haney is going to have trouble holding onto the 135-lb titles if he gets a hold of them against the vulnerable champion Kambosos. As long as Haney stays away from this murderer’s row at 135, he’ll be fine:
Vasyl Lomachenko
Ryan Garcia
Michel Rivera
Gervonta Davis
Rolly Romero
William Zepeda
Isaac Cruz
Hearn has done a good job thus far matching Haney, sticking him in with guys that are slow or old like Jorge Linares, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Joseph Diaz Jr.