![](https://wbcboxing.com/wp-content/uploads/Kambosos_Haney_800.jpg)
By James Blears
The lure of four belts is enticing, seductive and irresistible for George Kambosos Jr and Devin Haney, who dispute them all and simultaneously, at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on June 5th .
WBC lightweight champion Devin (27-0, 15 KO´s) stepped in, after Vasyl Lomacheko had to step away, naturally otherwise occupied and preoccupied with the life and death struggle in his beloved homeland. So, Devin is happy to traverse the Globe and go Down Under, acclimatizing for more than a month pre-fight, because he confidently seeks the whole enchilada. Shades of Alexander The Great, cutting through the Gordian Knot.
While for hitherto road warrior George (20-0, 10 KO`s), who won the WBA (Super) IBF, WBO title and WBC Franchise designation from Teofimo Lopez in a titanic, tempestuous, blistering and extraordinary war of attrition, this is a homecoming brimming with pride and he`s absolutely determined to shine, impress and triumph in front of his very own fans. What is his, he vows to keep, while going: “Won Better.”
George says: “It´s great to be back home, and these belts are staying here.” Devin replies: “Thanks to God. I can`t wait! This is the Super Bowl of the Lightweight Division. George is a great fighter. But things he does, I`ll take away.”
Of Greek descent, as well as being a proud Aussie, George swears by the Spartan War Chant: “Never Retreat-Never Surrender.” So much so that it`s tattooed on his body. Devin also has a fighting ethos of mettle. His father and Trainer Bill stresses, that his son made his bones fighting at small venues in Mexico. Devin turned pro at seventeen. But the minimum age for a pro in the United States is eighteen, so he made his start, South of The Border.
Both have fighting nicknames. George´s are The Emperor, which encompasses more territory than that of a king…and Ferocious. The latter has been used by others, most recently by Fernando Vargas. Devin´s is The Dream, reminiscent of Dream Boat. Not to be confused with day dreamer, or the Stan Laurel´s observation: “I had a dream I was awake and woke up to find myself asleep.”
Talents may be God given, but their development, execution and accomplishment take years of patient practice and hard grind. Devin is a dab hand. His jab, so beautifully demonstrated against Jorge Linares is the establishing brush stroke for a whole palate and smorgasbord, containing other punches. In round one, Devin landed forty one jabs!
Deft, seldom daft or rash, with his educated reach, he dominated for long stretches. But sturdy, grizzled veteran Jorge, who at thirty five, was thirteen years older, studied the gifted one, with the steady, steely patient, unwavering predatory gaze of a salt water crocodile, and every now and again, launched precisely timed ambushes, landing some eye watering combinations on him. They shook him!
Devin had seldom stuck around, moving head and body, to avoid retaliation, but the older man who´s a former triple division world champion, was sometimes somewhat effective in thwarting and counteracting and countermanding that. Jorge shook Devin with a peach of a left uppercut in the ninth and short right in the tenth and a double left hook in the eleventh.
To his credit Devin hung on in clinches, cleared his head and jerkily fought back in spurts with spirit, but he didn´t appear anywhere near as smooth or assured, as he`d done earlier in the fight. The crowd who were emotionally partial to their old favorite, lustily booed this prudent tactic, but there again, they weren`t on the receiving end and nevertheless, Devin handily won by UD.
Few, apart from George himself, expected to be in this tremendous and enviable position. Many considered him the dark horse and the underdog against formidable, brooding and erupting Teofimo Lopez, who went all out to blitz him, aiming for the opening round to be the closing one.
But “The Wags” were confounded, and it turned out to be a different tail. Bristling Teo landed a cluster of four jarring rights, all of which George absorbed and then George, slightly backed up and decked Teofimo with a mighty overhead right! Shocked to his boots, holding up “His Strides,” Teofimo immediately got up, and ten seconds later, the bell rang. Uproar!
George, who was “On fire,” was judging the distance exquisitely and also fighting fire with fire. He radiated sheer intensity!
As the fight wore on, faces showed signs of wear and tear. Teofirmo´s left eye was badly gashed, and blood poured down his face, almost masking it. George was fighting like a man possessed, but the tables again turned in the tenth when he was decked by a huge right. He dug deep, summoning up immense courage and cunning survival skills, to weather the grim and inevitable onslaught that ensued. Both men finished on their feet. George won a deserved split decision.
Then…the floodgates opened, as all that pent up emotion was released and cascaded into a crescendo. After all those rounds, there were bear hugs all around. The culmination of everything, since as an overweight bullied eleven-year-old, Dad had taken him to the gym, so he could learn how to defend himself.
That was a swarmer and slugger fight against Teofimo. This one with Devin, will be a different kettle of fish altogether. It`ll be catch me if you can, meaning connecting flush, rather than hot pursuit. George has got to prevent Devin becoming that Damned Elusive Pimpernel. And to win, Devin must temper, simmer and quell that fierce untamed spirit, brought to boil by George`s conviction, that failure in front of his own people, is unthinkable. George didn`t take a break after the Lopez War. It was straight back into training!
Devin “The Dream” Haney has mentioned about fair and impartial scoring if the fight goes the distance. In Australia he´ll get: “A fair shake of the sauce bottle.” Australia is a sensational sporting nation, known the World over for its swimmers, track and field, tennis, cricket, rugby and boxing stars. They all compete hard and: “Fair Dinkum!”
The Aussie fans adore a trier, taking him or her to their hearts! Devin will be welcomed with open arms, before encountering gloved fists and he`ll cherish his visit to this fabulously beautiful country, so much so that it won`t be his last visit!
The Aborigines also have their Dream Time. One of their famous sayings passed down by countless generations says: “We are just visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow and to love, and then…we return home.”
Jose SulaimánWBC HONORARY POSTHUMOUS LIFETIME PRESIDENT (+)
Mauricio SulaimánWBC PRESIDENT
WBC STATS
WBC LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE CHAMPIONSHIP
MARVEL STADIUM DOCKLANDS, MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
JUNE 5, 2022
TV: AUSTRALIA MAIN EVENTS / ESPN / AUSTRALIA KAYO SPORTS
THIS WILL BE THE WBC’S 2, 141 CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE FIGHT IN THE FIFTY-NINE YEAR HISTORY OF THE WBC
LOU DiBELLA & DiBELLA ENTERTAINMENT, PRESENTS:
GEORGE KAMBOSOS Jr.
(AUSTRALIA)
WBC FRANCHISE
DATE OF BIRTH: JUNE 14, 1993
BIRTHPLACE SYDNEY, NSW, AUSTRALIA
RESIDENCE: SYDNEY, NSW, AUSTRALIA
AGE: 28
NICK NAME: FEROCIUS
RECORD: 20-0-0, 10 ko’s
%KO’S: 50 %
GUARD: ORTHODOX
TOTAL ROUNDS: 130
WORLD TITLE FIGHTS: 1 (1-0-0)
TRAINER: JAVIER CENTENO
MANAGER: PETER KHAN
PROMOTER: DiBELLA ENTERAINMENT
DEVIN HANEY
(US)
WBC CHAMPION
DATE OF BIRTH: NOVEMBRE 17, 1998
BIRTHPLACE SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
RESIDENCE: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
AGE: 23
NICK NAME: THE DREAM
RECORD: 27-0-0, 15 ko’s
%KO’S: 55.6 %
GUARD: ORTHODOX
TOTAL ROUNDS: 162
WORLD TITLE FIGHTS: 5 (5-0-0)
TRAINER: BILL HANE
MANAGER: BILL HANEY
PROMOTER: MATCHROOM BOXING
NAME PERIOD AS CHAMPION
* REGAINED
FLOYD MAYWEATHER (US)
JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ (MEXICO)
ROBERTO DURAN (PANAMA)
CARLOS ORTIZ (P. RICO)
PERNELL WHITAKER (US)
ALEXIS ARGUELLO (NICARAGUA)
HECTOR CAMACHO (P. RICO)
ISMAEL LAGUNA (PANAMA)
ESTEBAN DE JESUS (P. RICO)
EDWIN ROSARIO (P. RICO)
42 WORLD CHAMPIONS RECOGNIZED BY THE WBC OF WHICH 7 HAVE REGAINED THEIR TITLE:
CARLOS ORTIZ (P. RICO)
ISMAEL LAGUNA (PANAMA)
MANDO RAMOS (US)
JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ (MEXICO)
STEVE JOHNSTON (US)
JOSE LUIS CASTILLO (MEXICO)
ANTONIO DeMARCO (MEXICO)
173 WORLD TITLE BOUTS HAVE BEEN HELD IN THE HISTORY OF THE WBC IN 14 COUNTRIES
THIS WILL BE THE FIRST FIGHT IN THE LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION HAVE BEEN HELD IN AUSTRALIA IN THE WBC HISTORY.
USA 93
MEXICO 24
PUERTO RICO 12
ENGLAND 10
JAPAN 9
FRANCE 9
SCOTLAND 5
VENEZUELA 2
SPAIN 2
RUSSIA 2
PANAMA 2
PHILIPPINES 1
ITALY 1
DOMINICAN REP. 1
TOTAL FIGHTS 173
20 BOUTS HAVE BEEN HELD IN AUSTRALIA IN THE ENTIRE WBC HISTORY
THIS IS THE FIRST WBC TITLE FIGHT IN THE LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION HAVE BEEN HELD IN AUSTRALIA IN ALL WBC HISTORY.
BREAKDOWN BY DIVISION:
FEATHER 5
Lt. HEAVY 3
SUPERBANTAM 3
SUPERWELTER 2
SUPERFEATHER 2
BANTAM 2
CRUISER 1
SUPERLIGHT 1
FLY 1
TOTAL FIGHTS 20
15/02/1964 CARLOS ORTIZ – GABRIEL ELORDE KO 14 MANILA
22/10/1966 CARLOS ORTIZ – ULTIMINIO RAMOS KO 15 MEXICO CITY
28/11/1966 CARLOS ORTIZ – GABRIEL ELORDE KO 14 NEW YORK
06/06/1970 ISMAEL LAGUNA – ISHIMATSU SUZUKI TKO 13 PANAMA CITY
05/11/1971 PEDRO CARRASCO – ARMANDO RAMOS DISQ 12 MADRID
18/02/1972 ARMANDO RAMOS – PEDRO CARRASCO DEC 15 LOS ANGELES
15/09/1972 CHANGO CARMONA – ARMANDO RAMOS KO 8 LOS ANGELES
11/04/1974 ISHIMATSU SUSZUKI – RODOLFO GONZALEZ KO 8 TOKYO
27/02/1975 ISHIMATSU SUZUKI – KEN BUCHANAN DEC 15 TOKYO
21/01/1978 ROBERTO DURAN – ESTEBAN DE JESUS TKO 12 LAS VEGAS
20/06/1981 ALEXIS ARGUELLO – JIM WATT DEC 15 LONDON
03/10/1981 ALEXIS ARGUELLO – RAY MANCINI TKO 14 ATLANTIC CITY
01/05/1983 EDWIN ROSARIO – JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ DEC 12 SAN JUAN
03/11/1984 JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ – EDWIN ROSARIO TKO 4 SAN JUAN
10/08/1985 HECTOR CAMACHO – JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ DEC 12 LAS VEGAS
13/06/1986 HECTOR CAMACHO – EDWIN ROSARIO DEC 12 NEW YORK
12/03/1988 JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ – PERNELL WHITAKER DEC 12 PARIS
29/10/1988 JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ – JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ TDEC 11 LAS VEGAS
20/08/1989 PERNELL WHITAKER – JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ DEC 12 NORFOLK
19/05/1990 PERNELL WHITAKER – AZUMAH NELSON DEC 12 LAS VEGAS
27/11/1993 MIGUEL ANGEL GONZALEZ – WILFRIDO ROCHA TKO 11 MEXICO CITY
19/08/1995 MIGUEL ANGEL GONZALEZ – LAMAR MURPHY DEC 12 LAS VEGAS
13/06/1998 CESAR BAZAN – STEVE JOHNSTON DEC 12 EL PASO
27/02/1999 STEVE JOHNSTON – CESAR BAZAN DEC 12 MICCOSUKEE I. G.
17/06/2000 JOSE LUIS CASTILLO – STEVE JOHNSTON DEC 12 BELL GARDENS
20/04/2002 FLOYD MAYWEATHER – JOSE LUIS CASTILLO DEC 12 LAS VEGAS
05/06/2004 JOSE LUIS CASTILLO – JUAN LAZCANO DEC 12 LAS VEGAS
07/05/2005 DIEGO CORRALES – JOSE LUIS CASTILLO TKO 10 LAS VEGAS
06/02/2010 EDWIN VALERO – ANTONIO DeMARCO TKO 9 MONTERREY
15/10/2011 ANTONIO DeMARCO – JORGE LINARES TKO 11 LOS ANGELES,
17/11/2012 ADRIEN BRONER – ANTONIO DeMARCO TKO 8 ATLANTIC CITY
24/09/2016 JORGE LINARES – ANTHONY CROLLA UD 12 MANCHESTER
31/08/2019 VASSILIY LOMACHENKO – LUKE CAMPBELL UD 12 LONDON
17/10/2020 TEOFIMO LOPEZ – VASSILIY LOMACHENKO UD 12 LAS VEGAS,
02/01/2021 RYAN GARCIA – LUKE CAMPBELL (INTERIM) TKO 7 DALLAS
29/05/2021 DEVIN HANEY – JORGE LINARES UD 12 LAS VEGAS
27/11/2021 GEORGE KAMBOSOS JR. – TEOFIMO LOPEZ UD 12 NEW YORK
test