George Kambosos Jr and Devin Haney will meet at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Sunday for the lightweight world championship in front of around 40,000 fans. Luke G. Williams previews a real blockbuster about a…
Not in modern times, the undisputed world boxing championship fights take place in Australia.
Back, of course, to when Tommy Burns was massacred by Jack Johnson for the world heavyweight championship at Rushcutters Bay, Sydney on Boxing Day 1908. Even before that, in the 1890s, the great featherweight was oblivion Young Griffo participated in a number of what are reported to be world title competitions, although in the early days of glove boxing, opinion was unanimous about world title status or about such competitions remains elusive.
The same goes for the ‘world championship’ weight classes held Down Under in 1914 with Ray Bronson, Waldemar Holberg and Tom McCormick participating.
After World War II, a case was made that Salvatore Burruni fought Rocky Gattellari in 1965 for the real world flyweight championship, even though Burruni had previously been stripped of the WBC and WBA belts.
By contrast, there is no doubt that Lionel Rose’s March 1969 matchup against Liverpool’s Alan Rudkin was for the undisputed bantamweight world champion title, and only ‘four belts’ maniacs. the new worst protested, claiming that Kostya Tszyu was besieging Jesse James Leija at Telstra In 2003, the Dome was for anything other than the undisputed world lightweight title.
Of course, boxing is boxing (a phrase I seem to use with repetition, unfortunately) there are always some avid people prepared to contest the uncontrollable, or fight undisputed handicap – and so it is with this weekend’s intriguing showdown between George Kambosos Jr and Devin Haney for the lightweight world championship.
Sure, the WBA super, WBC, IBF and WBO belts are all at stake, but because Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis holding the WBA belt (one of the most meaningless trinkets imaginable in a sport rife with useless knick-knacks) some adults actually have the guts to assume that the competition This is for something lower than the undisputed world title.
However, it’s best to ignore the Morons, so let’s continue to preview the fight, it’s a fascinating battle of the 135lb-ers indecisive, the outcome may depend on which warriors are really as good as they claim, and this shows that they are overrated.
Before dethroning Teofimo Lopez as the possibly undisputed, possibly non-lightweight world champion, Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) had a look – like many mermaids. his Australian – that of a trio willing to drop to the top of his class.
Certainly nothing in the first 19 fights of the Sydney-born boxer’s career suggests he’s been named the world’s highest star or title.
The first 13 matches of his career were all played in Australia, against obscene men who didn’t even have names in their households and on two occasions when the Kambosos finally faced off. With the world’s lighterweights at the border – that’s Mickey Bey in 2019 and Lee Selby in 2020 – he’s had some difficulty, only edging past both opponents through split decisions.
Then there was his sensational November 2021 mind match with Lopez. Let’s not forget that, ‘The Takeover’ went into that battle 16-0 (with 12 KOs), fresh from an impressive dissection of P4P king Vasiliy Lomachenko and – so he and the others his cheerleader told us – on the road to inevitable greatness. Kambosos punctuated those claims in an emphatic fashion, knocking out Lopez at half-time before unboxing, hustling and working hard.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Kambosos’ performance, though, was the way he recovered from a heavy and potentially transformative tenth round, weathering the storm on his way to a well-deserved victory. worthy, though in a way, judging Don Trella considers Lopez the winner.
However, the question remains. Given Lopez’s dire health – mentally and physically – on the hectic night at Madison Square Garden, could the Kambosos be somewhat pleased with what turned out? In short, is he a willing but limited fighter who got lucky against an out-of-form champion?
This weekend will give us the answer, as in Devin Haney (27-0, 15 KOs), Kambosos is facing an excellent boxer possessing ample technical skill. At just 23 years old, ‘The Dream’ has been considered by many quarters as the next great American boxer. With speed, defensive power, and an abundance of composure, Haney could be the perfect man.
However, as with Kambosos, doubts persist. Jorge Linares – arguably a loser – severely inconvenienced a less-than-convincing Haney last year, leaving him badly shaken in the tenth round, and Joseph Diaz knocked him down some as well. big hit in Haney’s next game.
Haney doesn’t appear to possess world-class elite strength, and how he will react in hostile territory, with 40,000 fans mostly against him, is a considerable unknown.
I could easily see a situation in which the explosive and inspirational Kambosos closed the gap with the fearsome Haney, roughing him, taking a few bounces but outsmarting him for the point.
Likewise, a Haney boxing victory and wide score are also a possibility, with the Americans simply being too skilled, too technically gifted and well trained. for Australians. Or we could have a close-up fight somewhere between these two situations, ending in a split decision or a bitter argument one way or another.
The variety of possible outcomes is one reason why this is such a tantalizing prize war. Indeed, the only outcome that would really surprise me would be an injury-time win, as both men seem to be able to accept the punishment pretty well and so can the killer punchers.
Then all I was left with, when I tried to pick a winner was a hunch. And my hunch says that perhaps Kambosos is somewhat pleased with Lopez’s win, while we are yet to see the best of Haney.
Furthermore, although Kambosos has sold and promoted this fight brilliantly, I have a feeling that he may have expended too much energy worrying in this area and maybe – in a strange way – too much hype on Sunday.
Typical of Kambosos’ attempts to displease Haney were comments he made earlier this week calling him “an informant” and “a rat,” before claiming: “This guy acts like a gangster. He also fakes that belt.”
Haney’s responses were measured. “He can’t do anything better in the ring than I do,” he said of Kambosos, “I don’t lose him at all, He’s a good fighter, but I just think I’m in one place. completely different level. ”
It should be remembered that this is Kambosos’ first game in Australia since 2017, and I feel that home advantage could turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing for him. Unlike against Lopez, the weight of expectations is on him, certainly on the fan side, if not on the bookies whose Haney is a close but obvious favorite.
Iirritably, Haney seemed completely unfazed by Kambosos’ trashy rhetoric and rhetoric. Indeed, Americans seemed calm, calm, and focused all week.
And what makes up the fact that Kambosos needs two tries to hit the 135lbs weight limit? Australians claim their first weight loss was intentional (“the art of war, honey. Deception”). Whether or not this is true, for me it’s another red flag that his head isn’t quite where it should be.
So my choice – albeit tentative one – is for Haney to claim his class and win a worthy decision, possibly through a scorecard that is more suitable for Kambosos. they should do.
