Devin Haney (29-0, 15 KO’s) successfully defended his titles for the second time against George Kambosos Jr. (20-2, 10 KO’s), decisively netting himself a unanimous decision after their previous match, held on June 5th. The bout was held on October 16 at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia – Kambosos Jr.’s home country and was a Lightweight championship bout for all of Haney’s titles including the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and The Ring titles. Their previous match also ended in a UD win for Haney and culminated in him winning all the available titles to officially become undisputed for the first time of his career.
Haney and Kambosos Jr. proved to be no less entertaining than the previous match, with Kambosos pushing on the gas pedal by pressuring Haney endlessly, but Haney efficiently defended and counterattacked almost everything well, as well as initiating his own offense. Haney seemed to switch effortlessly between defense and offense, checking most of Kambosos’ punches while launching his own unpredictable attacks which proved to be effective. Though Kambosos did break through at times, he didn’t come close to landing enough efficient punches to overturn the result, or heavily damage Haney.
Both on the inside and outside, Devin Haney proved to be effective. He gauged the distance between Kambosos’ attacks well, regularly staying just out of range to avoid getting hit, and in other cases keeping his guard tight and solid. George Kambosos Jr. wasn’t as effective with his offense as a result, and his own defense seemed to have gaps that Haney quickly took advantage of.
The judges eventually scored the bout a unanimous decision for Devin Haney who retained all of his four world belts and The Ring’s lineal belt. The scorecards were noticeably wider this match than it had been the previous time, with Haney receiving a score of 118-110 twice and 119-109, as opposed to the last time which reflected scores of 116-112 twice and 118-110.
This match marks Devin Haney’s first defense of the WBC title – which he won the previous match – and the second defense of the rest of the world titles and the lineal The Ring belt. Kambosos will have to pick up a career that has lately seen a lot of highs and lows during a short span of time, but likely won’t stay inactive long given the competition in the Lightweight division. Teófimo López – who he beat to become world champion for the first time – may be on the cards as a potential fight, and additionally there are fighters such as Vasyl Lomachenko, Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia and even Shakur Stevenson (who recently moved up from Super Featherweight) available if Kambosos decides to stay in the division.
Haney likewise can face the same opponents to move up the pound-for-pound rankings, and will have a plethora of contenders who provide a legitimate challenge to his legacy.
