George Kambosos Jr will demand a rematch for the undisputed lightweight world title despite being comfortably beaten by Devin Haney last night.
41,129 fans packed into the Marvel Stadium last night to cheer on home fighter Kambosos, who defeated Teofimo Lopez for the unified WBA, WBO and IBF titles last November. But it was Haney who upset the apple cart with a dominating performance over 12 rounds to become the first undisputed champion of the four-belt era.
The American was forced to leave promoter Eddie Hearn to sign a relatively unfavourable contract with Top Rank Boxing and Lou DiBella to make the fight happen. He was told he must travel to Australia and accept a rematch clause in order to get his chance at undisputed.
And his bad fortune had continued throughout the build-up when his dad and coach Bill Haney was kept out of the country until the eleventh hour due to a visa issue. His cutman Bob Ware was denied access entirely for a separate issue, meaning he had a makeshift corner team for the biggest fight of his career.
But the 23-year-old managed to maintain his composure and deliver a measured performance throughout the contest, working behind his jab to keep Kambosos at bay. One judge had him winning the fight by as wide a margin as 118-110, while the other two saw it 116-112 much to the chagrin of the Australian crowd.
And it now seems that the rematch clause Haney was forced to sign in order to get the fight will come back to haunt him as Kambosos insisted that he will exercise his right to a second fight.
Haney will likely be able to get Kambosos back to America on a better fight deal this time around, despite the terms of the rematch clause stipulating that it must again take place in Australia. But fans have expressed their disappointment that he will have to wait a little longer to face the likes of Gervonta Davis or Vasily Lomachenko.
“Yes, 100 per cent we will do it again,” Kambosos said after the fight. “If I hadn’t given him this shot, he wouldn’t have had his moment right now. Today they gave him the decision, but I’m sure it will change when we get it on again.
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“This is going to make me hungrier. True champions bounce back. The greats. Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran, all these guys bounced back and that’s what makes their legacies. I will bounce back hungrier than ever."
Haney now holds all of the belts, as well as the status among fans as the undisputed champion, which will give him negotiating power for their second fight. Australia will be heading into winter by the end of November, when the tentative date is set for the rematch, and Haney has said that facing his Aussie rival again must "make sense".
“It’s really up to my team,” he explained. “They will come up with a game plan and if they’re up for it, then I’m up for it. We had to take less money, we had to travel... we made a lot of sacrifices to make the fight happen and it all paid off. I’m not ducking or dodging nobody. If it makes sense, if the network wants it, I’ll do it again. But it has to make sense.”
