For all the marbles at 135 pounds: George Kambosos Jr versus Devin Haney. It seems this fight has an excellent chance of taking place soon, in fact next in the case of each rival champion. Both men want it, with WBC ruler Haney saying he is more than willing to go to Australia to face that country’s latest boxing star, and we fans sure want it. Also, promoter Eddie Hearn wants to make this fight and Haney has said he is happy to continue to work with Hearn. Haney has said he thinks the fight between he and Kambosos Jr is “a very easy fight to make happen.”
While Kambosos Jr congratulated Haney on Saturday night’s smooth as silk decision win over Jo Jo Diaz, adding that “now we can talk.” So who wins if/when this fight happens? Haney, 27-0(15) is a slick boxer, Kambosos Jr, 20-0(10) is a warrior who has skills but is more than willing to go into the trenches and win fights with his incredible conditioning and sheer desire. Neither fighter is a murderous puncher. It could be that these two lightweight champions bring out the best in each other.
While you may make the argument that another guy is the best in the world at 135 (maybe you pick Gervonta Davis, maybe Vasyl Lomachenko, maybe Ryan Garcia), Kamobosos Jr and Haney between them hold all the belts. This is a fight that “must happen,” Hearn has said, and plenty of people fully agree with him. It could be a special fight if/when these two primed and peaking fighters get it on. 28 year old Kambosos Jr is still getting plaudits for his big win over Teofimo Lopez, but there doesn’t seem to be any danger of the new champ partying hard and failing to turn up in tiptop shape for his first defence. That’s just not Kambosos Jr’s speed; he is a gym rat.
And Haney? He feels he is going to be a legend in the sport. Maybe he is. The 23 year old looked the best he’s ever looked in dominating the tough and dangerous Diaz. So which of these two unbeaten fighters can raise his game even higher in this fight, should it in fact happen? How much more has Kambosos Jr got in his arsenal? How much more boxing brilliance has Haney got in his locker?
Put these two together and next. It makes too much sense it hurts. And it would hurt bad if this fight didn’t come off. Who wins? This one is about as close to a 50-50 fight as you could mention right now.