Lightweight champions Devin Haney and George Kambosos Jr. have agreed to a June 5th deal to fight for the undisputed 135lb championship on ESPN at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
The fight will be shown in the U.S on June 4th. According to Mike Coppinger, the 23-year-old Haney inked a three-fight deal with Top Rank and promoter Lou DiBella to fight the next three contests on the ESPN platform.
WBC lightweight champion Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) has fought his last six fights on DAZN under Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn’s watchful eye.
With the deal with DAZN expired, Haney has chosen to move on to sign with Top Rank, who will be attempting to turn him into a star.
Interestingly, a rematch clause allowing IBF, WBA, WBC Franchise & WBO lightweight champion Kambosos a second fight against Haney if he loses on June 5th. Like the first fight, the rematch will take place in Australia, giving Kambosos the home country advantage in both contests.
If Haney wins both of the matches with the 28-year-old Kambosos, the third fight of his three-fight deal with Top Rank and DiBella will be against Vasyl Lomachenko on ESPN PPV if he’s back from the war in Ukraine.
You can argue that the Lomachenko fight will be the most crucial match of the three-fight deal for Haney, as Kambosos is viewed as beatable, a guy that lucked out in challenging an injured & ring-rusty IBF/WBA/WBC Franchise/WBO lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez on November 27th last year in New York.
In one of Teofimo’s worst performances of his career, Kambosos edged him by a 12 round split decision. Kambosos isn’t seen as a solid champion capable of holding onto his four titles against the big three – Haney, Lomachenko & Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
The Kambosos vs. Haney fight winner will be the undisputed champion at lightweight, giving them bragging rights to claim they’re the #1 fighter in the division.
Haney hasn’t been able to carve out a huge fan base despite holding the WBC lightweight title for the last three years since 2019. A couple of reasons for that is Haney lacks charisma, and his fighting style is considered one that only the ultra-hardcore boxing fans enjoy.
That is to say, Haney has a technical style of fighting, involving a lot of jabbing, moving, pulling back to avoid punches, and tying up his opponents in a clinch.
Haney’s fighting approach is nothing like the entertaining lights like Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia, and Lomachenko.
Haney fights like Floyd Mayweather Jr, but without the hand speed and a lot more holding. Mayweather wasn’t much of a clincher, but Haney doesn’t mind grabbing his opponents to keep them from getting their shots off.
U.S boxing fans will likely have mixed feelings about learning that the Kambosos vs. Haney fight is taking place. The fans who like Haney’s fighting style will be happy at the news of him fighting Kambosos, whereas the fans who prefer the more entertaining style of Ryan Garcia and Tank Davis won’t be thrilled about this match.
Haney’s last six fights on DAZN
- Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr
- Jorge Linares
- Yuriorkis Gamboa
- Alfredo Santiago
- Zaur Abdullaev
- Antonio Moran
By far the toughest of the recent fights for Haney was his match against Jorge Linares last May.
Linares hurt Haney multiple times in the championship rounds and had him clinging to him without stop from the 9th round on. Haney was like a coat Linares was wearing because he would not let go of him for the last four rounds.
“BREAKING: Geroge Kambosos and Devin Haney have struck a deal for a June 5 bout in Melbourne, Australia for the undisputed lightweight championship, sources tell ESPN. Rematch in Australia if Haney wins. Multi-fight co-promotional deal for Haney with Top Rank and Lou DiBella,” said ESPN.
