05-31-2022, 11:54 PM
Haney: This Is The Same George I've Always Seen; He's Putting On An Act, A Facade
BY JAKE DONOVAN
Published Tue May 31, 2022, 03:20 AM EDT
The trash talk isn’t getting to Devin Haney more so than what he believes is a fake persona put on by his divisional rival.
Plenty of words have been exchanged between the unbeaten WBC lightweight titlist and Sydney’s George Kambosos Jr. (20-0, 10KOs)—the reigning lineal/WBA/IBF/WBO champ—ahead of their undisputed lightweight championship this Sunday (local time) at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Las Vegas’ Haney has fielded a litany of insults hurled by his foe, including outrageous claims of his being “an informant, a rat” while on stage for Monday’s fight week kickoff press conference. The comments were shrugged off by the 23-year-old American, who—in his mind—is still waiting for the real Kambosos to surface.
“This is the same George that I’ve always seen. He’s nothing but an actor,” Haney insisted when asked on stage of his thoughts on the undefeated Aussie. “He’s putting on an act. He’s putting on a facade.”
“Just like I acted with Lopez,” Kambosos immediately replied, talking over Haney as has been the case whenever the two have been in the same setting.
Haney (27-0, 15KOs) has endured far more obstacles than most fighters in his position would accept to pursue greatness. The ESPN televised main event (Saturday, 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT/Sunday, 11:00 a.m. AEST) marks the fifth title defense for Haney, who had to commit to a multi-fight co-promotional pact with DiBella Entertainment (Kambosos’ promoter) and Top Rank to land the fight.
The biggest moment of his career to date without anyone from the training team who has manned the corner for his past several fights. Bill Haney—Haney’s father—and Ben Davison were unable to travel due to visa issues for vastly different reasons. Former IBF lightweight titlist and past Kambosos foe Mickey Bey was not part of this training camp, in part due to his own planned comeback fight versus Tevin Farmer which was since postponed.
Still, Haney has looked past everything standing in the way of his become undisputed champion, tuning out all the noise in the process and focusing simply on winning this weekend.
“At the end of the day, I take nothing away from him,” Haney said of Kambosos. “I have respect for him and I look forward to putting on a show for the fans.”
BY JAKE DONOVAN
Published Tue May 31, 2022, 03:20 AM EDT
The trash talk isn’t getting to Devin Haney more so than what he believes is a fake persona put on by his divisional rival.
Plenty of words have been exchanged between the unbeaten WBC lightweight titlist and Sydney’s George Kambosos Jr. (20-0, 10KOs)—the reigning lineal/WBA/IBF/WBO champ—ahead of their undisputed lightweight championship this Sunday (local time) at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Las Vegas’ Haney has fielded a litany of insults hurled by his foe, including outrageous claims of his being “an informant, a rat” while on stage for Monday’s fight week kickoff press conference. The comments were shrugged off by the 23-year-old American, who—in his mind—is still waiting for the real Kambosos to surface.
“This is the same George that I’ve always seen. He’s nothing but an actor,” Haney insisted when asked on stage of his thoughts on the undefeated Aussie. “He’s putting on an act. He’s putting on a facade.”
“Just like I acted with Lopez,” Kambosos immediately replied, talking over Haney as has been the case whenever the two have been in the same setting.
Haney (27-0, 15KOs) has endured far more obstacles than most fighters in his position would accept to pursue greatness. The ESPN televised main event (Saturday, 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT/Sunday, 11:00 a.m. AEST) marks the fifth title defense for Haney, who had to commit to a multi-fight co-promotional pact with DiBella Entertainment (Kambosos’ promoter) and Top Rank to land the fight.
The biggest moment of his career to date without anyone from the training team who has manned the corner for his past several fights. Bill Haney—Haney’s father—and Ben Davison were unable to travel due to visa issues for vastly different reasons. Former IBF lightweight titlist and past Kambosos foe Mickey Bey was not part of this training camp, in part due to his own planned comeback fight versus Tevin Farmer which was since postponed.
Still, Haney has looked past everything standing in the way of his become undisputed champion, tuning out all the noise in the process and focusing simply on winning this weekend.
“At the end of the day, I take nothing away from him,” Haney said of Kambosos. “I have respect for him and I look forward to putting on a show for the fans.”