Kambosos vs Haney – A fistful of honours
By James Blears
The lure of four belts is too enticing, seductive and irresistible for George Kambosos Jr and Devin Haney, who will dispute them all simultaneously at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on June 5th.
WBC lightweight champion Devin Miles Haney (27-0, 15KOs) stepped in after Vasyl Lomacheko had to step away, otherwise occupied with the life and death struggle in his beloved homeland.
So, 23-year-old Californian Devin is happy to travel 8,000 miles across the globe for a chance at all the marbles.
The road warrior George Kambosos Jr. (20-0, 10KOs) won the WBA (Super) IBF, WBO title and WBC Franchise designation from Teofimo Lopez in a titanic, tempestuous, blistering and extraordinary war of attrition. This is a homecoming for the Aussie, brimming with pride and he's absolutely determined to shine, impress and triumph in front of his very own fans. What is his, he vows to keep.
George says: “It's great to be back home, and these belts are staying here.”
Devin replied: “Thanks to God. I can't wait! This is the Super Bowl of the Lightweight Division. George is a great fighter. But things he does, I'll take away.”
Of Greek descent, as well as being a proud Australian, 28-year-old George swears by the Spartan War Chant: “Never Retreat-Never Surrender.” So much so that the words are tattooed on his body.
Devin 'The Dream' also has a fighting ethos of mettle. His father and Trainer Bill stresses that his son made his bones fighting at small venues in Mexico havng turned pro at just 17. But the minimum age for a pro in the United States is 18, which is why he made his start South of The Border.
Both have fighting nicknames. George's are 'The Emperor', which encompasses more territory than that of a king, as well as 'Ferocious'; the latter has been used by others, most recently by Fernando Vargas.
Devin's is 'The Dream', not to be confused with day dreamer, or the Stan Laurel´s observation: “I had a dream I was awake and woke up to find myself asleep.”
Talents may be God given, but their development, execution and accomplishment take years of patient practice and hard grind. Devin is a dab hand. His jab, so beautifully demonstrated against Jorge Linares is the establishing brush stroke for a whole palate, containing other punches. In round one of their May 2021 WBC World lightweight title clash, Devin landed no less than 41 jabs!
Deft, seldom daft or rash, with his educated reach, he dominated for long stretches. But sturdy, grizzled veteran Jorge, who at 35 was 13 years older, studied the gifted one, with the steady, steely patient, unwavering predatory gaze of a salt water crocodile, and every now and again, launched precisely timed ambushes, landing some eye watering combinations on him. They shook him!
Devin had seldom stuck around, moving head and body, to avoid retaliation, but the older man who is a formidable former triple division world champion, was sometimes somewhat effective in thwarting and counteracting that. Jorge shook Devin with a peach of a left uppercut in the ninth and short right in the 10th and a double left hook in the 11th.
To his credit Devin hung on in clinches, cleared his head and jerkily fought back in spurts with spirit, but he didn't appear anywhere near as smooth or assured, as he'd done earlier in the fight. The crowd who were emotionally partial to their old favourite, lustily booed this prudent tactic, but Devin handily won by UD.
Few, apart from George himself, expected to be in this tremendous and enviable position. Many considered him the underdog against in-form, brooding and erupting Teofimo Lopez, who went all out to blitz him, aiming for the opening round to be the closing one.
Bristling Teo landed a cluster of four jarring rights, all of which George absorbed and then slightly backed up, he decked Teofimo with a mighty overhead right! Shocked to his boots, Teofimo immediately got up, and 10 seconds later, the bell rang to save him. Uproar!
George, who was “On fire,” was judging the distance exquisitely and also fighting fire with fire. He radiated sheer intensity!
As the fight wore on, faces showed signs of wear and tear. Teofirmo's left eye was badly gashed, and blood poured down his face, almost masking it completely. The challenger was fighting like a man possessed, but the tables again turned in the 10th stanza when he was decked by a huge right hand. He dug deep, summoning up immense courage and cunning survival skills, to weather the grim and inevitable onslaught that ensued. Both men finished on their feet, and George won a deserved split decision.
The emotions exploded over for George, who was once an overweight bullied 11-year-old, so his Dad had taken him to the gym to learn how to defend himself.
That was a swarmer and slugger fight against Teofimo. This one with Devin, will be a different kettle of fish altogether. It'll be more of a 'catch me if you can' contest. If Devin gets into his stride and makes the fight his own by dictating the pace and distance, then George will find it difficult to get going and land his shots and combinations. Devin will likely become that 'Damned Elusive Pimpernel'.
However, he will also have to quell that fierce untamed spirit, brought to boil by George's conviction, that failure in front of his own people, is unthinkable.
George will carry on his fighting spirit from the last bout that saw him become an overnight superstar. Not one second of the contest will be wasted as he will throw everything plus the kitchen sink at this!
Devin “The Dream” Haney has mentioned about fair and impartial scoring if the fight goes the distance. In Australia he'll get: “A fair shake of the sauce bottle,” apparantly. Australia is a sensational sporting nation, known the World over for its swimmers, track and field, tennis, cricket, rugby and boxing stars.
The Aborigines have a famous saying passed down by countless generations that reads: “We are just visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow and to love, and then… we return home.”
#KambososHaney Stats
This will be the WBC’s 2,141 Championsip contest in their 59 year history
42 World Champions recognised by the WBC of which seven have regained their title: Caros Ortiz; Ismael Lahuna; Mando Ramos; Jose Luis Ramirez; Steve Johnson; Jose Luis Castillo; Antonio DeMarco.
173 World title bouts have been held in the EBC history across 14 different countries: USA (93); Mexico (24); Puerto Rico (12); England (10); Japan (9); France (9); Scotland (5); Venezuela (2); Spain (2); Russia (2); Panama (2); Philippines (1); Italy (1); Dominican Republic (1).
This will be the first ever WBC World lightweight title fight in Australia.
20 WBC World title bouts have been held in Australia.
George Kambosos Jr.
WBC Franchise, WBA Super, IBF, WBO
DOB: 14/06/1993
BIRTHPLACE: Sydney, Australia
RESIDENCE: Sydney, Australia
AGE: 28
NICK NAME: Ferocious
RECORD: 20-0-0, 10KO
%KOs: 50%
GUARD: Orthodox
TOTAL ROUNDS: 130
WORLD TITLE FIGHTS: 1 (1-0-0)
TRAINER: Javier Centeno
MANAGER: Peter Khan
PROMOTER: DiBella Entertainment
Devin Haney
WBC Champion
DOB: 17/11/1998
BIRTHPLACE: San Francisco, America
RESIDENCE: Las Vegas, America
AGE: 23
NICK NAME: The Dream
RECORD: 27-0-0, 15 ko’s
%KOs: 55.6 %
GUARD: ORTHODOX
TOTAL ROUNDS: 162
WORLD TITLE FIGHTS: 5 (5-0-0)
TRAINER: Bill Haney
MANAGER: Bill Haney
PROMOTER: Matchroom Boxing
WBC's Lightweight World Champions
- CARLOS ORTIZ (P. RICO 1963 – 1965
- ISMAEL LAGUNA (PAN) 1965
- CARLOS ORTIZ (P. RICO) * 1965 – 1968
- CARLOS TEO CRUZ (DOM.R.) 1968 – 1969
- MANDO RAMOS (US) 1969 – 1970
- ISMAEL LAGUNA (PAN) 1970 *
- PEDRO CARRASCO (SPAIN) 1971 – 1972
- MANDO RAMOS (US) * 1972
- ERUBEY CARMONA (MEX) 1972
- RODOLFO GONZALEZ (MEX) 1972 – 1974
- ISHIMATSU SUZUKI (JAPAN) 1974 – 1976
- ESTEBAN DE JESUS (P. RICO) 1976 – 1978
- ROBERTO DURAN (PAN) 1978
- JIM WATT (GB) 1979 – 1981
- ALEXIS ARGUELLO (NIC) 1981 – 1983
- EDWIN ROSARIO (P. RICO) 1983 – 1984
- JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ (MÉX) 1984 – 1985
- HECTOR CAMACHO (P. RICO) 1985 – 1987
- JOSE LUIS RAMÍREZ (MÉX) * 1987 – 1988
- JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ (MÉX) 1988
- PERNELL WHITAKER (US) 1989 – 1991
- MIGUEL ANGEL GONZALEZ (MEX) 1992 – 1995
- JEAN BAPTISTE MENDY (FRA) 1996 – 1997
- STEVE JOHNSTON (US) 1997 – 1998
- CESAR BAZAN (MEX) 1998 – 1999
- STEVE JOHNSTON (US) * 1999 – 2000
- JOSE LUIS CASTILLO (MEX) 2000 – 2002
- FLOYD MAYWEATHER (US) 2002 – 2003
- JOSE LUIS CASTILLO (MEX) * 2004 – 2005
- DIEGO CORRALES (US) 2005
- JOSE ARMANDO SANTA CRUZ (US) INTERIM 2006
- DAVID DIAZ (US) INTERIM 2006 – 2008
- JOEL CASAMAYOR (CUBA) 2007
- MANNY PACQUIAO (PHIL) 2008
- EDWIN VALERO (VENEZUELA) 2009 – 2010
- ANTONIO DE MARCO (MEX) (INTERIM) 2009 – 2010
- HUMBERTO SOTO (MEXICO) 2010 – 2011
- ANTONIO DE MARCO (MEXICO) * 2011 – 2012
- ADRIEN BRONER (US) 2012 – 2013
- OMAR FIGUEROA (MEXICO/US) 2013 – 2014
- JORGE LINARES (VENEZUELA) 2014 – 2017
- DEJAN ZLATICANIN (MONTENEGRO) 2016 – 2017
- MIKEY GARCIA (US) 2017 – 2019
- VASSILIY LOMACHENKO (UKRAINE) FRANCHISE 2019 – 2020
- DEVIN HANEY (US) INTERIM 2019 –
- TEOFIMO LOPEZ (HONDURAS/US) FRANCHISE 2020 – 2021
- RYAN GARCIA (US) INTERIM 2021
- GEORGE KAMBOSOS JR. (AUSTRALIA) FRANCHISE 2021 –
*Regained
WBC's Top 10 Lightweight World Champions
FLOYD MAYWEATHER (US)
JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ (MEXICO)
ROBERTO DURAN (PANAMA)
CARLOS ORTIZ (P. RICO)
PERNELL WHITAKER (US)
ALEXIS ARGUELLO (NICARAGUA)
HECTOR CAMACHO (P. RICO)
ISMAEL LAGUNA (PANAMA)
ESTEBAN DE JESUS (P. RICO)
EDWIN ROSARIO (P. RICO)
WBC Llightweight memorable fights
15/02/1964: CARLOS ORTIZ – GABRIEL ELORDE (KO 14)
22/10/1966: CARLOS ORTIZ – ULTIMINIO RAMOS (KO 15)
28/11/1966: CARLOS ORTIZ – GABRIEL ELORDE (KO 14)
06/06/1970: ISMAEL LAGUNA – ISHIMATSU SUZUKI (TKO 13)
05/11/1971: PEDRO CARRASCO – ARMANDO RAMOS (DISQ 12)
18/02/1972: ARMANDO RAMOS – PEDRO CARRASCO (DEC 15)
15/09/1972: CHANGO CARMONA – ARMANDO RAMOS (KO 8)
11/04/1974: ISHIMATSU SUSZUKI – RODOLFO GONZALEZ (KO 8)
27/02/1975: ISHIMATSU SUZUKI – KEN BUCHANAN (DEC 15)
21/01/1978: ROBERTO DURAN – ESTEBAN DE JESUS (TKO 12)
20/06/1981: ALEXIS ARGUELLO – JIM WATT (DEC 15)
03/10/1981: ALEXIS ARGUELLO – RAY MANCINI (TKO 14)
01/05/1983: EDWIN ROSARIO – JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ (DEC 12)
03/11/1984: JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ – EDWIN ROSARIO (TKO 4)
10/08/1985: HECTOR CAMACHO – JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ (DEC 12)
13/06/1986: HECTOR CAMACHO – EDWIN ROSARIO (DEC 12)
12/03/1988: JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ – PERNELL WHITAKER (DEC 12)
29/10/1988: JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ – JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ (TDEC 11)
20/08/1989: PERNELL WHITAKER – JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ (DEC 12)
19/05/1990: PERNELL WHITAKER – AZUMAH NELSON (DEC 12)
27/11/1993: MIGUEL ANGEL GONZALEZ – WILFRIDO ROCHA (TKO 11)
19/08/1995: MIGUEL ANGEL GONZALEZ – LAMAR MURPHY (DEC 12)
13/06/1998: CESAR BAZAN – STEVE JOHNSTON (DEC 12)
27/02/1999: STEVE JOHNSTON – CESAR BAZAN (DEC 12)
17/06/2000: JOSE LUIS CASTILLO – STEVE JOHNSTON (DEC 12)
20/04/2002: FLOYD MAYWEATHER – JOSE LUIS CASTILLO (DEC 12)
05/06/2004: JOSE LUIS CASTILLO – JUAN LAZCANO (DEC 12)
07/05/2005: DIEGO CORRALES – JOSE LUIS CASTILLO (TKO 10)
06/02/2010: EDWIN VALERO – ANTONIO DeMARCO (TKO 9)
15/10/2011: ANTONIO DeMARCO – JORGE LINARES (TKO 11)
17/11/2012: ADRIEN BRONER – ANTONIO DeMARCO (TKO 8)
24/09/2016: JORGE LINARES – ANTHONY CROLLA (UD 12)
31/08/2019: VASSILIY LOMACHENKO – LUKE CAMPBELL (UD 12)
17/10/2020: TEOFIMO LOPEZ – VASSILIY LOMACHENKO (UD 12)
02/01/2021: RYAN GARCIA – LUKE CAMPBELL (INTERIM) (TKO 7)
29/05/2021: DEVIN HANEY – JORGE LINARES (UD 12)
27/11/2021: GEORGE KAMBOSOS JR. – TEOFIMO LOPEZ (UD 12)
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