This Saturday against George Kambosos, Devin Haney has a chance to accomplish more than simply successfully defend his undisputed lightweight crowns. According to his opponent, depending on how he wins, he might even get a spot on a coveted rankings list.
This Saturday at Rod Laver Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, Haney, of Oakland, California, will defend his WBA, WBO, WBC, and IBF 135-pound crowns against Kambosos. This contest is a straight rematch of their summer encounter, which Haney won by unanimous decision to add the WBA, WBO, and IBF championships to his already-existing WBC version.
In a recent interview, Kambosos presented Haney with an additional challenge: If you stop me this time, you could earn a spot on a highly sought-after pound-for-pound list.
In a face-off interview with Haney on Fox Sports Australia, Kambosos claimed, “If he can stop me, he might make the pound-for-pound list.” “I hope he tries,”
Haney replied with a smile, “Hopefully, sh!t.
Over the summer, Haney was particularly attentive to the issue of placement based on weight. The 23-year-old took offense at the Ring after it omitted him from its most recent pound-for-pound list, an opinion-based exercise that seeks to rank boxers across several weight classes. Haney believed he deserved to be at the top of the Ring magazine’s rankings since he was only the ninth boxer in the four-belt era and the second-youngest competitor to ever totally unify a division. Haney pledged to give up the lightweight Ring magazine belt in revenge, declaring that he would not be seen wearing the accessory “before and after” his rematch with Kambosos. Douglass Fischer, the editor of the Ring, then asked Haney to “send” his belt back.
Haney has in fact been seen posing without the Ring belt in recent fight-week pictures for the rematch.
Oleksandr Usyk, the undisputed heavyweight champion, was ranked first in The Ring magazine’s pound-for-pound rankings, while Artur Beterbiev, the undisputed light heavyweight champion, was ranked No. 10.
