Devin Haney double-checked all of the fight promo to confirm the stakes for this weekend’s championship clash.
The word “UNDISPUTED” serves as the headliner for every poster and banner surrounding the four-belt lightweight championship clash between Las Vegas’ Haney and Sydney’s George Kambosos Jr.
Only one belt was on display for Monday’s press conference to formally kick off fight week—Haney’s WBC belt. Kambosos’ WBA/IBF/WBO straps were not present ahead of their upcoming showdown this Sunday (local time) at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
"What was the point of even coming if you didn't bring the belts,” Haney questioned during the presser. “Aren't we fighting for the belts? Didn't the government put up the money for all the belts and didn't the media come out because this is an undisputed fight between two champions. Why wouldn't you bring the belts?
All of the relevant lightweight hardware will be on display and the division’s lineal championship at stake when the two meet in their ESPN-televised main event (Saturday 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT/Sunday 11:00 a.m. AEST).
Las Vegas’ Haney (27-0, 15KOs) fights for the first time outside of North America, putting his WBC title on the line for the fifth time. Kambosos (20-0, 10KOs) fights at home in the first defense of the unified titles he collected in a twelve-round, split decision win over Teofimo Lopez Jr. last November 27 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City.
Haney accepted the fight with little pushback to a number of conditions—including his entering a three-fight co-promotional deal with DiBella Entertainment (Kambosos’ promoter) and Top Rank just to land the assignment. The unbeaten 23-year-old agreed to all of that and to travel halfway around the world for a shot at becoming the undisputed champion.
His contentious unbeaten rival had a simple, if not valid, explanation.
“You’ll see them soon enough,” Kambosos replied.
The remark was not all appreciated.
“F------ clown,” Haney said of Kambosos.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox