Devin Haney: “I’m Sending Him [Kambosos] Into Retirement”

By Allan Fox: Devin Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) will be defending his undisputed lightweight championship against George Kambosos Jr (20-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday, sending him into retirement with a loss.

(Photo credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images)

Haney, 23, says he can’t wait to show the fans the improvements in his game from the first fight with Kambosos last June. He’s been working on power, and he wants to try it out on his test subject Kambosos.

Although Haney is the visiting fighter to Australia once again, he’s got the Aussies eating out of his hand this time around. He won them over after his victory over Kambosos last summer, and in some ways, they’ve adopted him as one of their own.

In contrast, the crowds have been quiet around Kambosos, and it’s pretty clear that the fans have abandoned him after his loss.

It’s interesting how utterly abandoned Kambosos is by his fans, who abandoned ship after watching him get outclassed by Haney.

Kambosos has a chance to win them back with an upset win on Saturday, but it’s going to take a special performance from him to get the job done. It would be an incredible story if Kambosos could get the victory, as he looked barren of talent last time out.

He was shockingly bad and, basically, the same guy that had barely scraped by with wins over the played-out Mickey Bey and Lee Selby.

Before Kambosos got lucky beating Teofimo Lopez in 2021, he was just an average bottom fringe-level contender and not someone that was viewed as being capable of winning a world title or even beating a highly-ranked contender. Kambosos was just an average Joe, and now he’s returned to being that person after his loss to Haney.

“I’m ready to go; I can’t wait. I’m excited about it,” said Devin Haney to the media on Wednesday about his fight against George Kambosos Jr on Saturday.

“Yeah, I’ll defend my belts at home after this, but it all starts on Sunday, October 16th, where it all counts. I’m going to be victorious, and we’ll go from there.

“I’m happy to be back in Melbourne. Melbourne is another home for me. I’m much more powerful this time around than I was the first time.

“This time around, he’s much more humble. He tasted some humble pie, and after this, I’m sending him into retirement. I will show the difference between the first fight to the second fight and how much I improved and got better. I can’t wait.

“I love Melbourne. After I’m victorious, I’ll come back again to fight here. A different venue, the same outcome,” said Haney.