It was deja vu Down Under for Devin Haney on Saturday (15 October), as the American outpointed George Kambosos Jr to remain undisputed lightweight champion.
Four months on from their first fight, 23-year-old Haney was once again a unanimous-decision winner against Kambosos Jr, 29, on the Australian’s home turf.
At Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium in June, Haney claimed undisputed status with a comprehensive points victory over Kambosos Jr to take the titles that the home fighter had won from Teofimo Lopez in 2021.
Haney’s first win against Kambosos Jr also marked the first loss of the 29-year-old’s professional career, and he was handed a second here by Haney, who emerged a 119-109, 118-110, 118-110 victor at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena to remain unbeaten.
Per the judges’ scorecards, he did so by an even greater margin than he had against Kambosos Jr in June.
“I knew he was looking for the jab, so I wanted to show other tools in the arsenal,” Haney (29-0, 15 knockouts) said. “The right hand won me the fight tonight.
“I should definitely be on the pound-for-pound rankings. I showed how versatile I am. I came to Australia not once but twice, I honoured [a rematch clause] and beat the man in his hometown twice. He made every excuse in the book for the first fight.”
Kambosos Jr (20-2, 10 KOs), meanwhile, said: “I gave everything I had in this fight. I’m very proud of myself.
“This guy’s a hell of a fighter [...] a pound-for-pound top-five fighter in the world. His skills, his movement – he can move up to 140lbs and be dominant as well.
“This guy’s going to be around for a long time. I’m very humble to be in there for 24 rounds.”
