Haney's journey takes him from Tijuana bar bouts to the top of the world down under
Showdown with Kambosos in Australia is to unify titles for the undisputed lightweight world championship
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Devin Haney’s road to an undisputed lightweight championship fight with George Kambosos Jr. was one with modest beginnings.
It was a road on which a teenager without the backing of a major promoter — or even a minor one for that matter — traveled through the Tijuana, Mexico, club circuit fighting for peanuts in front of a few hundred people to a world title and now to the summit of the division with a chance to make big-time history.
Haney, who holds the WBC title, will defend the belt for the fifth time when he squares off against three-belt champion Kambosos for the undisputed 135-pound world championship on Saturday (ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET) at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, Kambosos’ home country, where a crowd of around 50,000 is expected for the fight, which will take place Sunday afternoon Melbourne time. The winner will be the first undisputed lightweight champion of the four-belt era.
“It’s all a dream come true for me,” Haney told Fight Freaks Unite. “I’ve been calling the top guys out for awhile, calling for these big fights. Finally, now I’m gonna get my opportunity and it just happened to be in Australia.”
Melbourne is a long way from where it all began for Haney in Tijuana — some 8,000 miles away on the other side of the planet.
Haney was a standout amateur, going 138-8 and winning seven national titles. Among his amateur bouts he was 2-2 record against Ryan Garcia. Rather than remain amateur and perhaps shoot for an Olympic berth, Haney, under the guidance of his trainer, manager and father, Bill Haney, turned pro in late 2015 at age 17.
Too young to get a license in the United States, Haney had his first four fights at a Tijuana pool hall. The name of it, translated into English, was “The Salty Dog” — not the sort of name of a place anyone would figure to produce an elite fighter.
Haney (27-0, 15 KOs), 23, of Las Vegas, had 10 of his first 15 fights in Tijuana at various venues. It was the experience of having everyone against him and fighting for very little money that helped build his professional foundation.
“Fighting in Mexico in a bar you never thought that you’d make it this far,” Haney said before amending his comment.
“I knew that I’d make it this far but I knew that I had a long road,” he said. “I wasn’t the guy that came out of the amateurs and was signed to a big promoter and was fighting on big shows. I fought in Mexico for a long period of time. It’s been a long time coming for me. I wasn’t even fighting on TV.”
It wasn’t until his 19th fight that Haney got a chance to fight on Showtime’s prospect-oriented “ShoBox: The New Generation” — and knocked out Mason Menard in the ninth round in 2018 — that he was seen by a national audience.
“The journey couldn’t be more worth it.” — Devin Haney
Two fights later he signed with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn and scored the 2019 knockout of the year against Antonio Moran on DAZN, where he would fight six times in a row, including all of his world title fights. He had been an interim titleholder before being elevated to full WBC titlist when then-champion Vasiliy Lomachenko asked for and given the “franchise” title, and then fought Teofimo Lopez instead of Haney, who would go on to make title defenses against opponents such as former world titleholders Yuriorkis Gamboa, Jorge Linares and Joseph Diaz Jr.
Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs), 28, upset Lopez, who had beaten Lomachenko, to take his unified titles in November. Kambosos was set to make his first defense in a homecoming fight against Lomachenko, but then he bowed out to remain in Ukraine helping defend his country against the Russian invasion. Haney, whose contract with Matchroom expired, was anxious for the fight and replaced Lomachenko. To get it, he left Matchroom, signed with Top Rank and moved to ESPN, its broadcast partner.
Haney did not hesitate to accept fighting in Australia either, and two weeks ago boarded a plane en route to Melbourne for the biggest fight of his life — for which he is the betting favorite despite going on the road.
“Everything they asked for we gave them because I just feel I am truly the better fighter, the more skillful fighter and no matter where (the fight) is, I know I’m gonna get the job done,” Haney said. “(Kambosos is) durable, he’s tough. I do believe I’m just a far better fighter. I got more skills, more speed, better power, better ring IQ. I’m the bigger man. All the attributes are against him and I will show it. I won’t matter how many people are screaming for him. They can’t fight for him.”
Haney learned about fighting in hostile environments during his Tijuana days. He’ll never forget them because it was those fights — with nobody but his father there for him — that made him the fighter he is today.
“The journey couldn’t be more worth it,” Haney said. “Everything that it took to get here prepared me for this moment. I enjoyed the journey to get here. I’m happy with what it took to get here and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“This is what I truly wanted, to fight for the undisputed title, to stamp my name in the history books forever. It’s about legacy. It’s gonna be fun for Devin Haney. All my dreams that I’ve prayed for since I was a young kid and worked for will be answered. I can’t wait to pose for the pictures with all my belts and feel like the king of the world.”
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
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