Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was impressed with what he saw from Devin Haney with his one-sided 12-round unanimous decision victory over unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. last weekend on June 5th in Melbourne, Australia.
Arum says he now thinks the undisputed lightweight champion Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) has the “real goods,” and he says the rematch will be next between him and Kambosos.
It was such a mismatch that it was difficult to see if Haney has improved since his performance against Jorge Linares. Kambosos lacked the power and boxing skills of Linares, so he wasn’t able to stun Haney in the same way.
Surprisingly, Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs) made no adjustments during the fight and looked like an average bottom fringe-level contender rather than a unified lightweight champion with an unbeaten record.
All you can say from watching the fight is that Teofimo Lopez must have been really sick & injured for him to lose to a limited fighter like Kambosos because he should have destroyed this guy.
While Haney did look good, he didn’t perform at the same level as Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis or Vasyl Lomachenko. Those guys are on another level than Haney and would have knocked out Kambosos or made him quit.
“A lovely young man, a nice father. They went to the lion’s den in Melbourne in Kambosos’ hometown, and I was there. The father got in the night before,” said Bob Arum to Fighthype about Devin Haney’s victory over George Kambosos Jr. on June 5th.
“He put on a dazzling performance,” Arum continued about the 23-year-old undisputed lightweight champion Haney. “He’s the real goods. I just don’t know.
“That’s why they put the fights on, and that’s why they buy the tickets,” Arum said when asked who wins in a fight between Haney and #1 WBC ranked Vasyl Lomachenko.
“We’re obligated to do the Kambosos rematch, and the Haney’s are honorable people, and they’ll do what they’re contracted to do,” said Arum.
“You fought the undefeated champ [George Kambosos Jr], and I thought you won 10 out of 12 rounds. The judges agreed, you won going away,” said Max Kellerman on MAX on Boxing, talking about Haney’s win over Kambosos last weekend.
“I Tweeted at you, ‘Congratulations, champ,’ and you Tweeted back, ‘Undisputed.’ Undisputed, why is that important to you?” said Kellerman.
“Because I’m the man with everything. I know what you meant when you said, ‘The lightweight champ,'” said Haney. “But you got to put undisputed on there because as much as they can say, ‘Email, Franchise, whatever the case may be, I have it all.”
“You do because there is a distinction between being undisputed and undefeated champ,” said Kellerman. ‘Tyson Fury, to me, is the heavyweight champion of the world. They say lineal, but to me, he’s the man. Why are you the undisputed champ?”
“Before this, they were saying, ‘Email,’ but now I have everything, and that’s why I want the world to recognize me as undisputed, the guy with everything, no disputed, no debate, no ifs, buts, and about it,” said Haney.
“I always knew I’d be here, and it was only a matter of time for me to show it. I beat the man [Kambosos] that beat the man [Teofimo Lopez], and now I’m the man. So it all worked out in my favor, and I did it in his territory.
“I did it down under where a lot of people doubted me and doubted my decision. I did everything I said I was going to do, and now I’m the man,” said Haney.
“A shutout is when you win all 12 rounds, but to me, you winning ten rounds, it’s like a shutout,” said Kellerman. “That was like a virtual shutout you pitched down there.”
“And honestly, I feel like the two rounds we gave him; they were like charity rounds. It was two rounds for showing up,” said Haney about Kambosos getting a couple of mercy rounds.
“I thought if you wanted to give him everything, you could give him four. If you wanted to give him nothing, you could have given him nothing, right?” said Kellerman.
