Heated Exchange Between Devin Haney and George Kambosos Comes as No Surprise
The journey to a final destination in boxing when making a big fight can be a long and taxing process. Moreover, harsh feelings can arise between the two contestants. Unified lightweight champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos Jr (20-0, 10KOs) and WBC champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (27-0, 15KOs) had no problem letting the words fly.
Haney wanted the undisputed fight with Kambosos since the Australian grabbed the belts away from former unified champion Teofimo Lopez. Moreover, he had been chasing the unified champion for months, trying to get the fight as it was once told it could happen when both fighters were face to face.
Both teams would trade verbal shots over social media as Kambosos accused the WBC champion of manipulating and lying to the boxing community about trying to make the fight. Then Haney revealed that Kambosos’ promoter Lou DiBella of DiBella entertainment never sent over a contract.
In the end, Kambosos was all-set to fight former unified champion Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko in his hometown of Australia. Unfortunately, Hi-Tech had to go home and defend his country from the Russian invasion. This forced team Kambosos to revisit fighting The Dream.
PLAYING MIND GAMES EARLY
The internet went crazy after learning that a deal had been reached, and both champions will share the ring in Kambosos’ hometown on June 5. During the press conference in Australia, the unified champion started playing the mind games right away, and Haney was not going to have it. Things got heated when Kambosos referred to Haney as a kid and tried to make it seem like they selected the WBC champion the whole time. Haney wasted little time in setting the record straight.
“First off, I want to start off by saying I am not a kid, so he can stop calling me a kid. I’m a man, and I will show him that in the ring. Respect me as a man, and if he doesn’t want to respect me as a man, I’ll gain the respect in the ring.”
“Second of all, he could say that he chose me, but that’s not the truth, he was forced into this fight. He did not want to fight me […] he can say what he wants to say, he did not choose me, he was forced into it.”
Devin Haney, WBC lightweight champion
Kambosos, realizing that Haney was a little bothered by the comment, kept poking at his divisional rival.
“You were chosen boy, you were chosen. You got forced into this position.”
George Kambosos Jr., unified lightweight champion
As both fighters shared a heated back and forth, it was clear the mind games started early. It was high energy as both champions did not back down and continued going after each other. Fans can’t wait to see them clash in the ring for true undisputed on June 5.
Reading Time: 3 minutes
By: Garrisson Bland
