Devin Haney became the first undisputed lightweight champion of the four-belt era with a thorough domination of George Kambosos. And he did so by conceding every tangible advantage in order to land the fight.
MORE: Haney outclasses Kambosos to unanimous decision victory
Haney took less money and agreed to face Kambosos in his backyard at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. He spent the week overseas without one of his trainers while his co-trainer and father didn’t arrive until the day of the fight. None of those disadvantages mattered as Haney surgically dissected Kambosos behind a pinpoint accurate jab to cruise to a unanimous decision. The 23-year-old made it look easy as he tamed the rabid fans who came to see the homecoming of George Kambosos.
The fight didn’t necessitate a rematch. Unfortunately, Haney had one more demand to acquiesce to. And that would be an immediate rematch back in Australia.
But given how this first fight turned out, who would want to see that?
Kambosos would, obviously. He was systematically wiped out by the younger, stronger, faster and smarter Haney. It was a thorough outclassing that has left Kambosos chomping at the bit to right his wrongs in the rematch. He’s going to spend the next several months obsessing over every second of the fight. Why couldn’t he get his head off the line? What could he have done to prevent Haney’s jab from repeatedly connecting with his face? Did he take enough risks?
He’s going to struggle to find the answers as he hopes to rectify what took place to hand him the first loss of his career.
As for every other party involved? A rematch is a massive waste of time.
The lightweight division is crowded and it can be argued that Kambosos lucked up when he edged out Teofimo Lopez last November to become the unified champion. And now that he no longer has anything that Haney wants, fans will have infinitely more interest in seeing Haney defend his undisputed titles against the more popular opponents such as Ryan Garcia or Gervonta Davis.
Unfortunately, they’ll get a fight that nobody will want to see.
It’s also going to be rather difficult to convince that rabid fanbase who swore by their hometown hero to rally behind Kambosos considering what they witnessed. It wasn’t a close fight that could have gone either way. It was an indisputable drubbing that left them silent for a majority of the 36 minutes as Kambosos head repeatedly snapped back like a Pez dispenser.
On the bright side, Haney is young and the year or so the rematch will set him back won’t be a complete waste of time. Of course, this is assuming that the second fight plays out in a similar fashion as the first.
This is the bittersweet reality of rematch clauses.
On one hand, you ensure that both fighters get a fair shake. Someone could simply have a bad night and get an opportunity to redeem themselves. On the other hand, an unjustified rematch hurts more than helps. The anticipation is down and a fighter like Kambosos ends up teetering on the edge of seeing his stock take an irreconcilable drop.
It may benefit Kambosos to take another fight before stepping into the ring with Haney but there’s simply no way that he can pass up the massive fight purse that awaits him. As for Haney, it’s a catch-22 considering that he’ll be installed as a huge favorite in the rematch. If he wins, it’s expected. But if he loses, it would be an absolute stunner.
It also doesn’t help that Haney has to go to Australia again despite being the undefeated champion. But, alas, this is what he signed up for.
And that's likely what we're going to get. Whether we like it or not, Devin Haney and George Kambosos will dance again before the end of the year. Maybe things will change in the return bout, maybe they won't. Both fighters will be compensated handsomely for their time.
Meanwhile, Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis will face other opponents. Maybe they'll face each other and then, hopefully, one of them will fight Haney.
Boxing doesn't always get things right and times like this feel like missed opportunities.
As for the fans, we'll just have to grin and bear it.
REPEAT OR REVENGE MELBOURNE: Grab GA tickets to Kambosos v Haney rematch
