7:51 ET
-
Mark Kriegel ESPN
MELBOURNE, Australia – Devin Haney is not believed to be just a transcendent talent. He’s a bright, sincere, impossibly likeable 23-year-old (at least for a fighter) who suddenly finds himself in a hostile environment 8,000 miles from home. In addition, he is here without the father who not only raised him, but has carefully orchestrated his entire career, from his professional debut in 2015 in a billiard room in Tijuana until now, with a multitude of more of 40,000 people scheduled for this Sunday (9 pm ET). Saturday night on ESPN / ESPN +) at Marvel Stadium for a bout that will give the winner exclusive custody of all four belts and decide the undisputed lightweight world champion.
In other words, the prodigy has already achieved the almost impossible: being both a bookmaker and a sentimental favorite.
And yet all the heat of this fight is being generated by the other boy. This would be George Kambosos, who until the end of last November was considered just another mandatory IBF challenger. Prior to that, he was best known as Manny Pacquiao’s coaching partner.
Top Rank Boxing is now on ESPN and ESPN +. Subscribe to ESPN + for exclusive boxing events, weights and more.
Saturday, June 4, 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN +: George Kambosos Jr. vs. Devin Haney undercard
Saturday, June 4, 9 pm ET on ESPN and ESPN +: George Kambosos Jr. vs. Devin Haney, 12 rounds, for the undisputed lightweight title
In fact, it was Kambosos ’work as Pacquiao’s teammate coach that inflamed his sense of, well, ambition it doesn’t look great enough. Say it destiny, as Kambosos would surely do. Five years ago, in Brisbane, he watched from the ring as Pacquiao dropped his OMB title to local boy Jeff Horn. However, the decision affected Cambosos less than the sight of 55,000 Australians shouting at Suncorp Stadium.
“I wanted that fight at the stadium,” he says. “I necessary that fight in the stadium. I said to my dad, there with me next to the ring, “We’ll do it.” Maybe no one believes us but me and you, We believe it. ‘ jo knew my time has come “.
If so, it made sense to keep his convictions to himself. “People would have thought we were crazy,” says Kambosos, who was older than Haney at the time but had not yet fought outside his native Australia.
Yet, in five years’ time, here we are on the eve of another massive fight at the stadium. “I did it,” Cambosos said. “I imagined it. I made it a reality.”
George Kambosos will have the support of the local public when he faces Devin Haney in Melbourne on June 4, 2022. Kelly Define / Getty Images
It took a minute. It required some skillful and persistent maneuvering by his manager, Peter Kahn. But above all, what created this opportunity was Kambosos and his usual contempt for odds. First, he defeated Mickey Bey, a former New York-based lightweight champion at Madison Square Garden, winning a split decision by dropping Bey in the final round. He then went to London to defeat Welshman Lee Selby, another former champion, again by split decision. Finally, in a stellar promotion last November, he defeated again in the Garden the man whom many considered the undisputed lightweight champion, Brooklyn-born Teofimo Lopez. Lopez, who seemed to be the most dynamic young boxing talent after a dominant victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko, vowed to finish off Kambosos in the first round. And why not? It was a big favorite. The only problem was that it was Kambosos who shot down Lopez in the first.
It is worth noting here that López had a training camp with problems, during which he separated with his wife. He entered the ring with an esophageal tear which, according to doctors, could endanger his life and make breathing difficult. If you think this diminishes Kambosos ’final victory, however, I remind you that Kambosos thrives on being diminished. In addition, it does nothing to cheapen what it considers the best moment of the struggle.
It is not his defeat of López that is most treasured. Rather, he rises from Lopez’s devastating right in the 10th round. “At some point we all touch each other,” Kambosos says. “A lot of people decide to stay down. But it’s that weird person who gets up and says, ‘No, that’s not how this story is going to end.’ .
“I have to show my warrior instincts. It’s my legacy. I’m Spartan.”
In fact, Cambosos’ grandparents emigrated from Sparta to Sydney, but more important is the ego of the fighter. Kambosos cares less about how he sees himself than how he sees himself: as the protagonist of his own epic poem. Well, maybe it’s an adaptation of a graphic novel. You’ll remember “300,” the bloody, semi-animated narrative of Spartan warriors outnumbered at the ancient battle of Thermopylae.
Well, Kambosos has started calling himself “301”. It is a saga that has reminded him of his body, which is covered in tattoos.
“I told my wife I was ready to die this Sunday,” he says.
It’s a curious comment from a guy who insists Haney has “no chance” of winning. However, since he has not fought in Australia since 2017, Kambosos models this fight as the return of a conquering hero. Marvel Stadium, he says, “is my Colosseum.”
His wife and three young children will watch from the ringside. When he finishes, he says, he will present his 2-year-old son, Leonidas (King Leonidas, played by Gerard Butler, was the Spartan leader in “300”) with Haney’s version of the CMB belt.
George Kambosos kept Teofimo López out of the balance for a long time. Ed Mulholland / Matchroom
Fighters and promoters often talk about “the best fighting the best,” but of course, they rarely do. An event like this, then, has a rare and authentic merit. Kambosos, coached by Javiel Centeno in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, could have easily made a comeback victory, celebrating his return home with a glorified officer as is the unfortunate custom of boxing. Instead, he chose the great Lomachenko first. And when Lomachenko withdrew, due to the invasion of his native Ukraine by Russia, Kambosos headed for Haney.
2 Related
Haney made his own concessions to make the fight happen. He doesn’t just go on the road; this stadium crowd will be different from anything you’ve ever seen. And if Kambosos were to lose (an impossibility, he says, but which his promoter, Lou DiBella, insisted on considering), Haney would have accepted an immediate resumption in Australia. Finally, he is without his father, Bill, who was denied a visa because of a drug charge 30 years ago.
In other words, every fighter has accepted an unusual risk. Both are to be applauded. But instead of mutual respect, it is the charismatic and rude underdog who has dominated the leadership. Kambosos, who had no trouble working for Pacquiao in his fight with the Australian Horn, has become accustomed to calling Haney “snitch” and “informant” because of the messages he says Haney sent him before the fight against Lopez.
“They had a great lined up fight, Haney and Lopez,” Kambosos tells me. “I didn’t know Devin Haney for a bar of soap. But he took to Twitter to send me messages about Teofimo … what he’s doing, the problems he had with his wife … To me, this is a rat. … The little sneaky things he did. “
George Kambosos trains at his Ferocious Gym in Mortdale, Australia, before his fight against Devin Haney for the undisputed lightweight championship. Brendon Thorne / Getty Images
And what? I wonder. The enemy of an enemy is a friend. It seems that Haney, with ample justification, thought that Kambosos was an easier rival than Lopez. More curious, especially after Haney accepted Cambosos ‘terms, was Kambosos’ choice to make it personal.
“It’s ‘The Art of War,'” he admits, citing the title of his favorite book, Sun Tzu’s celebration of cruelty as a virtue. “This is a business for me.”
“You wanted to get under his skin,” I ask. “Didn’t you?”
“I just wanted the world to know the truth,” he says, a little spooky. “Did I sink some feathers? Maybe. It’s already broken? I think so.”
I ask for a set look they had earlier this week.
“I saw him break up three times in that showdown,” Cambosos says. “And when you break against a Spartan warrior like me, I already have you.”
When exactly did it break? I ask.
“I think he’s broken since the day he signed for the fight.”
I don’t know who’s trying to provoke Cambosos here: me, Haney, or himself. It occurs to me that if self-confidence is considered a talent, then the Kambosos should be the top 10, pound for pound. We’re walking through the field of the “su Colosseum”, Marvel Stadium. Better get used to it, he tells me, as his next fight will be here too.
A rematch with Haney? I say.
“Does not say. “Lomachenko”.