Former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. fought 24 rounds and lost twice against Devin Haney on home soil in Australia in 2022.
Kambosos is incredibly familiar with the dominant Haney’s (31-0, 15 KOs) supreme skillset as “The Dream” faces Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Much like many observers and bookmakers are backing the -900 betting favorite Haney to beat the seemingly unfit-to-fight Garcia, so is Kambosos.
“I spoke to Devin Haney [last week]. We have a great relationship and a lot of respect for each other,” Kambosos told BoxingScene in an interview.
“I cannot see Garcia winning this fight. I think Devin is just getting better and better and I think it’s going to be too much for him. They are two different fighters. Devin is zoned in and in tremendous shape while Ryan is talking about who killed Tupac Shakur and that he knows it all. He’s talking about other things. It’s affecting how big of a fight this really is. Devin Haney will be victorious and I can’t see one way that Ryan will win.”
Garcia came in 3.2 pounds over the 140-pound weight limit on Friday.
“Could there be a stoppage? I believe yes. Ryan is a tough guy. Boxing is a funny game. We expect one thing and get another. It’s an exciting fight. It’s great for boxing.
“[Garcia and I are] two kinds of different fighters. Ryan is a big-sized guy. I think that can definitely play a factor. He has tremendous speed as well. The thing with Devin though is that he makes you fight his fight. I tried everything and he makes you feel you are fighting his fight.”
Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) will next face Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs), who last fought and lost to Haney in a spirited unanimous decision last May,.
Kambosos vs. Lomachenko will take place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on May 12 (May 11 in the United States on ESPN).
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.