Boxing legend Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini says IBF/WBA/WBC Franchise/WBO lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. will be “too strong” for WBC belt holder Devin Haney and will beat him on June 5th in their undisputed 135-lb battle in Australia.
‘Boom Boom’ Mancini, who held the WBA lightweight title from 1982 to 1984, rates the unbeaten Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) as a “good boxer,” but he thinks the “pressure” that Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) will be exerting on him will prove to be too much.
It’s not a good sign that the 23-year-old Haney has been hurt in his last two fights against Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr. and Jorge Linares in 2021.
Haney getting hurt by those guys is a sign that he has a chin issue, which the accurate-punching Kambosos could take advantage of on June 5th.
To be sure, Kambosos isn’t the biggest puncher in the lightweight division, but he’s got enough pop in his punches to hurt almost anyone in the division.
What makes Kambosos dangerous is his accuracy. He rarely misses with his shots, and he wears you down with his constant pressure.
It’s fair to say that Haney would have been knocked out by Linares if the 36-year-old Venezuelan-born former three-division world champion had been accurate with his shots after he hurt Devin in the ninth.
If Kambosos had been the one in there against Haney on the night, he likely would have finished him.
“That’s a great group of guys. Devin Haney is going to fight Kambosos now,” said Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini to Secondsout. “I’m anxious to see that, I’m anxious to see what he can do because I’ve heard a lot about him. I’ve seen him and moves really well a good boxer.
“I think when you fight someone like Kambosos that has that pressure and can punch like that, you’ve got to have something. You better be ready to keep him off of you.
“I just think Kambosos is eventually too strong and overwhelms him. I’m not saying he knocks him out. I think he wins pretty decisively. Again, I haven’t seen enough of them. I’ve only seen Kambosos one time. Haney, I haven’t seen a full fight, but I’ve seen enough of him.
“I don’t think Haney has the firepower to keep Kambosos off of him. If Teofimo didn’t, I don’t think Haney is going to be able to, but Haney can box, he’s a real good boxer,” said Mancini.
The lack of power of Haney is going to be a problem because Kambosos is going to be putting him under constant duress during the fight. Without the pop in Haney’s punches to keep Kambosos honest, he’s going to light him up like a Christmas tree on the night.
“He’s going to have to use movement to try and keep Kambosos off-balance with movement,” said Mancini. “The fact that he’s going down under [to Melbourne, Australia to fight Kambosos], I admire Haney for that.
“He’s going in his backyard. To be the best, you’ve got to fight the best, and you’ve got to fight them in their backyard. I admire that very much, but I think Kambosos is going to feed off the adrenaline, the fans.
“I know here in the UK, you guys are fanatical, but down there [in Australia], they’re pretty fanatical too. I think they haven’t had a champion like him [Kambosos] for a long time, probably since Jeff Fenech, so it’s going to be great,” said Mancini.
The way that Kambosos is going to be fighting with a huge crowd supporting him in Australia, you can bet that he’s going to raise his level to one we’ve not seen before. That’s bad news for Haney because his punch resistance might be impaired since his fight with Linares.
