Devin Haney says George Kambosos Jr’s ego is out of control and he plans on humbling the unified lightweight champion on June 4th when he faces him for the undisputed championship in Melbourne, Australia.
WBC 135-lb champion Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) doesn’t care for the way Kambosos talked to him during their kickoff press conference, showing little respect and referring to him as a “kid.”
The 23-year-old Haney feels 100% certain that he’s going to dominate the unbeaten Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) in front of his own fans at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Haney’s only worry is whether the judges will give him the victory. As long as the “judging is fair,” he’s going to rip Kambosos’ IBF, WBA & WBO lightweight titles away from him on the night.
Haney says Kambosos can keep his WBC Franchise belt because he doesn’t want it. The WBC title that Haney possesses now is the one that counts, as far as he’s concerned.
“I’m finally getting my shot. It was pretty much forced. This is not a fight that George Kambosos wanted, and it’s no secret,” said Devin Haney to ThaBoxingvoice. “If you play the tapes back, it just shows.
“A lot of times when I was calling for these big fights, a lot of people didn’t know if I was telling the truth or if I was just bluffing,” said Haney.
Some would argue that the main reason the 28-year-old Kambosos preferred the fight with Vasyl Lomachenko over Haney is that there wouldn’t be as much criticism afterward if he lost to that talented former three-division world champion.
Losing to Haney, who hasn’t done nearly as much in his career as Lomachenko, would make Kambosos look bad, reinforcing the perception that he’s just a one-hit-wonder.
Many boxing fans already believe that the only reason Kambosos is a champion today is that Teofimo Lopez wasn’t at his best when he fought him last November in New York.
Had Teofimo been firing on all eight cylinders, he would have wiped out Kambosos and made it look easy.
“When my guard finally got pulled and everything was stacked against me as far as the contract, the travel, this and that. I still said I believe in my talent, I believe I’m the best fighter in the world,” said Haney.
“No matter what the circumstances, as long as I get fair judging and that’s all I ask for, when we enter the ring, I’m the better man,” Haney said.
It would be a good idea for Haney to ensure that the judges don’t get a chance to score the fight on the night, because this is Kambosos’ backyard and there will be a crowd of 60,000 fans there rooting for him.
Haney should focus on starting quickly so that he can take the crowd out of it, and not give Kambosos a chance to bank a few important rounds in the first half of the contest.
“I don’t respect the ‘boy’ comment. For one, I’m not a little kid. ‘Boy,’ you can look at it a lot of different ways, and I don’t want to dig into it too much. If you know, you know,” said Haney.
“Kid, I’m not a kid, far from a kid. His head is somewhere else, and his ego is somewhere even further, and I will humble him on June 4th.
“It’s just some stuff that you know not to say,” Haney said about some of the comments Kambosos has been making. “I could say many different things, but that’s not my character.
“I’m not going to go there just to get in his head. On fight night it will show, and just keep that same energy. That’s all I can say. On fight night whatever judges are there, I’m going to come out victorious.
“That’s my main focus. I don’t want to get too drawn into the antics and the bull s***. I trust in my skills, and I trust in my talent. I believe I’m the better man.
“This is a dream come true, and I’m so thankful for this opportunity. On June 4th, I will show all that I’m made of and everything it took to get to this point.
“Everybody knows Rolly is a bum, so it’s not a competitive fight,” said Haney in picking Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis to beat Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.
“He should make it easy, but if he doesn’t, then it shows. Rolly is a bum. Who has Rolly beat? Who has Rolly fought? He lost to [Jackson Marinez]. What has Rolly accomplished? What accolades does he have to where he should be in the ring with Tank?
“You got to read between the lines. Him talking s*** got him the opportunity, not because he’s a good fighter or he worked himself up. He hasn’t fought nobody,” said Haney.
