Devin Haney Expecting More Concessions in George Kambosos Rematch Negotiations
In front of a packed house at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, WBC lightweight champ Devin Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) scored the biggest win of his career as he defeated unified champ George Kambosos Jr (20-1, 10 KOs) to become the undisputed lightweight champion of the world.
Before the fight, the Aussie crowd was rabid in their support of Kambosos, who was fighting on home turf. But once the bell rang, Haney silenced them as he put on a beautiful boxing display, using a terrific jab and boxing skills to neutralize Kambosos’s attack en route to a comfortable unanimous decision.
A big point of discussion from fans and pundits before the fight was the terms of a rematch clause. It stated that if Haney were to win, the two must run it back in Australia. Following his victory, the newly crowned undisputed king at 135 was asked about a fighting Kambosos again.
CONDITIONS, CONDITIONS, CONDITIONS
“Of course, I’m not ducking or dodging nobody. If it makes sense, the people want it, then, of course, I’ll do it again. If not, then I’ll fight whoever. I’m not ducking or dodging nobody, but everything got to make sense.”
For this fight to become a reality, Haney agreed to let Team Kambosos set most of the terms during negotiations. Haney also had to leave his business agreement with Matchroom and sign a multi-fight, co-promotional pact with Top Rank and DiBella Entertainment. Furthermore, Haney said he took a significant pay cut.
Kambosos said, after his loss, that he plans to exercise the rematch clause. But, here’s the boxing translation of what Haney said to ESPN about facing him again. While he is willing to do so ASAP, it must be under his terms. You’d have to guess that he hasn’t forgotten about the concessions he made, something he was public about during the pre-fight lead-up.
WHAT MUST CHANGE
All those sacrifices paid off big-time as he’s now The Man at 135. While the purses for either fighter were not made public as of this writing, it’s no secret that Kambosos took a large percentage of the purse split.
Look for the new lightweight king to want much more money for Haney-Kambosos II later this year. Can you blame him? He’s done enough to earn it, and it makes no sense to short-change himself again. While an immediate rematch is contractually obligated and likely to happen, nothing is guaranteed in this sport. Haney holds many of the major of the cards now. Expect him to be very judicious in how he decides to play them.
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By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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