Notebook: Haney, Kambosos look forward to undisputed lightweight title rematch

Andrade vacating middleweight belt to move up in weight; former titleholders Figueroa, Dawson announce retirements; Quick hits; Show and tell

Aug 23, 2022

Four months after Devin Haney handily outpointed George Kambosos Jr. to unify all four lightweight titles to become the undisputed champion the rematch was made official on Monday.

They will meet again in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Oct. 15 at famed Rod Laver Stadium — home of the tennis Australian Open — in Melbourne, Australia, where it will be Oct. 16 Australia time.

Kambosos is getting a second chance because he invoked his contractual right to an immediate rematch that also required Haney to again face him in his home country of Australia, where the government of the state of Victoria is heavily involved in financing the event as it was for the first fight.

Kambosos appeared at a news conference in Melbourne while Haney, his father and trainer Bill Haney and promoters Bob Arum of Top Rank and Lou DiBella appeared via satellite from Los Angeles in a session in which the fighters did not have any direct engagement as they did during the fiery press conference to announce the first fight.

Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs), 29, speaking before Haney, will once again be the heavy underdog just as he was when he traveled to New York and scored a monumental upset split decision over Teofimo Lopez to claim the unified title in November 2021.

“That’s my whole career where I’ve been the underdog, so this is nothing new for me now,” Kambosos said. “This is a good position I’m in. The changes will be made. I’m sure Haney will make changes as well and I look forward to doing my talking in the ring. I’ll be very focused and I’ll be showing up.

“I’m not gonna take it away from Devin. Fantastic win. He’s a man of his word. He and his father will come back and give me the shot like I gave them the shot. This time will be a different story.”

Haney traveled to Melbourne and cruised to a clear decision — 118-110, 116-112, 116-112 — to retain the WBC title and take the WBO, IBF and WBA belts from Kambosos on June 4 before 41,129 at Marvel Stadium.

With the victory, Haney became the first undisputed 135-pound champion of the four-belt era and the first undisputed champion in the division since the late Hall of Famer Pernell Whitaker accomplished the feat by unifying the three major titles in 1990.

“It was a dream come true for me to become undisputed and have my name be mentioned with the greats, but it doesn’t stop there,” Haney said. “I want my name to be mentioned with the greats still. I want my name to be mentioned with Pernell Whitaker. He was undisputed but he defended his belts as undisputed and I want to do the same thing. I want my name to be with those guys who defended the belts.”

Haney (28-0, 15 KOs), 23, of Las Vegas, said he will not be complacent preparing for the rematch. He intends to arrive in Australia three weeks before the fight to make sure he properly adjusts to the time change.

“My attitude hasn’t changed,” Haney said. “I got a lot of respect for George and I look to put on another great performance and show how much I’ve improved since the last fight. Since the last fight we haven’t stopped working. We’ve been critiquing our performance and we’re gonna come in even better this time around.”

Much of the drama around the first fight was whether Bill Haney would be allowed to travel to Australia to be in his son’s corner. Because he served prison time for a drug-related conviction 30 years ago, his visa to go to Australia was initially denied. He sent close friend and noted trainer Yoel Judah to Australia with Devin weeks ahead of the fight since it did not look like he would be able to go. But at the 11th hour, and thanks to a lot of work behind the scenes, he was permitted to enter Australia and arrived on the eve of the fight, worked the corner and celebrated with his son after the historic victory.

“We had a short-lived celebration and then we went right back to work,” Bill Haney said. “We don’t take anything away from the Kambosos team and we know they’re going to come very determined and hungry.”

The winner of the fight likely will get a major fight with former unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko in the spring if Lomachenko wins his fight with Jamaine Ortiz in October. Haney and Kambosos acknowledged the possibility of that bout but did not want to get ahead of themselves.

Kambosos was particularly stark in his assessment of how important the rematch with Haney is to him.

“It’s do or die,” Kambosos said. “If I don't overcome this fight you will not see me back in Australia fighting domestic guys; that's not me. Everything I have I will be putting into that ring and my training, and god willing I will be victorious.”

Andrade to vacate 160 title

WBO middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade will vacate his title and move up to super middleweight manager Ed Farris told Fight Freaks Unite on Monday.

Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs), 34, a southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island, who is a promotional free agent, was ordered last month to face interim titlist Janibek Alimkhanuly and with no deal made there is a purse bid looking. Top Rank, which promotes Alimkhanuly, has interest in the fight but not for the kind of money Andrade was making under his recently expired deal with Matchroom Boxing.

“There is nothing more for him at 160,” Farris said, noting that Andrade was never able to land a major fight at 160 pounds or even when he held a title at junior middleweight. “We tried (WBC titlist Jermall) Charlo, (Jaime) Munguia, (Chris) Eubank Jr. and (Billy Joe) Saunders and nobody would fight him. He will be fighting for the interim championship at 168 and with the difficulty making 160 it just didn’t make sense to fight Janibek at this point.

Farris plans to talk to promoter Frank Warren in the hopes of rekindling a fight with Zach Parker (22-0, 16 KOs), 28, of England, for the WBO interim super middleweight title that was previously scheduled and then canceled earlier this year when Andrade suffered a shoulder injury.

Under WBO rules, as a WBO world titleholder, Andrade is entitled to an immediate title shot in the next weight class if he asks for it. With undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez facing Gennadiy Golovkin on Sept. 17, the WBO could once again approve Andrade-Parker for the interim belt.

“I’m going to talk to Warren and see if we can make a deal,” Farris said.

Andrade, who has made five middleweight title defenses since winning the vacant belt in October 2018, last fought in November and knocked out Jason Quigley in the second round. Andrade was scheduled to fight Parker on May 21 in England but suffered a shoulder injury earlier that month, forcing the cancellation.

Once Andrade formally vacates Alimkhanuly (12-0, 8 KOs), 29, a 2016 Olympian from Kazakhstan, will be elevated to full titlist. He claimed the vacant interim belt via second-round destruction of Danny Dignum on May 21 in Las Vegas.

Figueroa retires after beating

Former lightweight titlist Omar Figueroa Jr. knew he had taken enough and that his body simply could no longer hold up.

So, after his father and trainer, Omar Figueroa Sr., stopped his junior welterweight fight with former titleholder Sergey Lipinets following the eighth round on Saturday night, the younger Figueroa announced his retirement.

Lipinets had dished out a ferocious beating to Figueroa for the entire bout that headlined the Premier Boxing Champions card on Showtime at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Lipinets (17-2-1, 13 KOs), 33, of Kazakhstan, moved up the card from a preliminary fight to the main event on five days’ notice when Figueroa’s original opponent, Adrien Broner, withdrew, citing mental health issues.

Lipinets had been on standby and was sharp. He dropped Figueroa (28-3-1, 19 KOs), 32, of Weslaco, Texas, with a short right hand in the second round and administered a wicked beating for the remainder of the fight. He constantly landed flush right hands to the head until the fight was finally halted.

According to CompuBox, Lipinets landed 172 of 517 punches (33 percent) and Figueroa landed just 44 of 475 (9 percent). After the eighth round, Lipinets led by shutout scores of 80-71 on two scorecards and was up 79-72 on the third as he rebounded from a sixth-round knockout loss to heralded prospect Jaron Ennis in an April welterweight bout.

“I’m very disappointed about the outcome. My team and I worked so hard during this training camp. My body has reached its limit,” said Figueroa, who had a bittersweet day by ending his career only hours after his daughter was born. “I’ve been doing this for 27 years (including amateur boxing) and my body has finally said enough. I’m just sorry I’ve disappointed the fans.

“The change of opponents didn’t affect me. I think I’ve reached the end of the line here in boxing. It occupied my life for 27 years. My body just gave up. It didn’t respond. I’m happy that I got to enjoy this last camp. I had a great time. Lipinets was tough. He's a tough fighter. He's really strong and he came to fight. My body just didn't respond. Not much else to say.”

The loss was Figueroa’s third in a row and second in a row by one-sided knockout.

“I have no idea what's next,” said Figueroa, who has been open about his longtime mental health struggles. “I’m working on a couple things. I have a book that I'm working on, and maybe I'll be able to give people a little more insight on my life. There's so much more that's part of who I am, and maybe that's part of why it came to such an abrupt end like this.”

Chad Dawson retires

Two-time light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, one of boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighters during his 2007 to 2012 prime, announced his retirement via social media late last week on the anniversary of his Aug. 18, 2001 professional debut.

Dawson had not fought since an eight-round near-shutout win over Denis Grachev on Oct. 11, 2019, partly due to the pandemic.

“21 years ago I made my pro debut. After a long successful tough career, I feel it’s time for me to let go of the sport I gave my all,” Dawson wrote. “I accomplished the highest level in boxing and became a world champion. I did everything I wanted to do in boxing and I’m looking forward to life after boxing.

“Thanks to God, my family, my fans and everyone who supported me throughout my career. I greatly appreciate you all. Passing the torch to my sons and only pray they’ll be even better than me — ‘Bad’ Chad Dawson. Officially Retired.”

Dawson (36-5, 19 KOs), 40, a southpaw from New Haven, Connecticut, won the WBC title from Tomasz Adamek in a strong showing in 2007. He went on to land a lucrative HBO contract and defeated Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver twice apiece in 2008 and 2009 title bouts while also claiming the IBF belt (after having vacated the WBC title).

In 2010, he lost an 11-round technical decision to Jean Pascal challenging for the WBC belt in Montreal, Pascal’s hometown.

Dawson’s biggest fights were in 2011 and 2012 when he twice faced Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins. After a second-round no contest in the first fight, he outpointed Hopkins in the rematch to take the WBC title that Hopkins had won from Pascal.

It was downhill after that for Dawson, who decided to drop down to super middleweight and challenge Andre Ward for his unified title in 2012. Ward dominated and knocked him out in the 10th round. Dawson returned to light heavyweight to defend his title against Adonis Stevenson in 2013 and was drilled in the first round. He would fight seven more times between 2014 and 2019.

Quick hits

During its telecast Saturday night, Showtime made official what Fight Freaks Unite reported last week: Sebastian Fundora (19-0-1, 13 KOs) will defend the WBC interim junior middleweight belt against former welterweight title challenger Carlos Ocampo (34-1, 22 KOs) in the main event on Oct. 8 (10 p.m. ET) at a site to be determined with middleweights Carlos Adames (21-1, 16 KOs) and Juan Macias Montiel (23-5-2, 23 KOs) squaring off in the co-feature (which will be for the vacant WBC interim middleweight title with titleholder Jermall Charlo sidelined) and IBF junior bantamweight titlist Fernando Martinez (14-0, 8 KOs) facing former titlist Jerwin Ancajas (32-2-2, 22 KOs) in an immediate rematch of Martinez’s February title victory.

The IBF on Monday canceled Tuesday’s purse bid scheduled for the mandatory fight between unified champion Josh Taylor and Jeremias Ponce. There is no deal for the fight and Taylor has no plans to fulfill the mandatory bout as he targets a rematch with Jack Catterall. The purse bid being canceled means Taylor is poised to vacate the IBF belt. He unified all four titles to become undisputed champion but once he lets the IBF belt go he will be down to only the WBO title after the other organizations ordered mandatory bouts against lesser opponents and he elected to go in another direction.

The “Social Gloves” pay-per-view card headlined by a six-round 180-pound fight between YouTube personalities Austin McBroom and AnEson Gib has been rescheduled for Sept. 10 at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, organizers announced Monday. The card will air via Integrated Sports PPV on cable and satellite services as well as stream via FITE and PPV.com ($39.99). It had been scheduled for July 30 at Crypto Arena in Los Angeles but was postponed due an unspecified issue related to Gib. Among other bouts also rescheduled are exhibitions between former NBA player Nick “Swaggy P” Young and hip-hop artist BlueFace and Adrian Peterson and Le’Veon Bell, both former All-Pro NFL running backs.

Per the California State Athletic Commission, these are the official contract purses from Saturday’s Top Rank/ESPN card: Emanuel Navarrete $775,000, Eduardo Baez $135,000; Giovani Santillan $55,000, Julio Luna $15,000; Nico Ali Walsh $10,000, Reyes Sanchez $16,000; Austin Brooks $4,000, Oliver Galica $5,000; Lindolfo Delgado $35,000, Omar Aguilar $50,000; Xavier Martinez $30,000, Alejandro Guerrero $17,500; Miguel Contreras $17,500, Josec Ruiz $10,000; Luis Lopez $15,000, Yeison Vargas $2,500; Antonio Mireles $4,000, Kaleel Carter $4,000.

Show and tell

The late Hall of Famer Arturo Gatti, my all-time favorite fighter, won world titles at junior lightweight and junior welterweight but, of course, was best known as the all-action warrior of his generation. For about a decade, from 1996 through the end of his career in 2007, no fighter provided fight fans with more thrills, drama and blood than Gatti, the human highlight reel. He was in several legit fights of the year even before his epic trilogy with Micky Ward. One of his all-time great battles came in his first fight with lightweight Ivan Robinson. They slugged it out for 10 blistering rounds in Atlantic City in a fantastic fight. Gatti dropped Robinson with a right hand in the fourth round and Robinson swelled Gatti’s eyes.

Then, with 45 seconds left in the fight, and Gatti seemingly needing a knockout (or at least a knockdown), he nearly pulled it off. He hammered Robinson with a clean left hand that sent him sagging into the ropes. Robinson was hurt and Gatti went after him, unloading numerous punches. It was a miracle Robinson did not hit the deck. He actually collected himself and landed some good shots on Gatti as the round ticked down. But with a few seconds left, Gatti landed another left-hand bomb and Robinson’s legs turned to jelly. He rushed Robinson and landed again but the bell ended the sensational fight. Gatti lost a split decision — 98-93 and 96-94 for Robinson and 96-93 for Gatti — in what was named fight of the year and upset of the year by The Ring magazine. Gatti would then lose another decision in an immediate rematch with Robinson in another tremendous slugfest. Their first unforgettable fight was on Aug. 22, 1998 — 24 years ago on Monday. Here is a program from the card, which also featured a young Fernando Vargas in the co-feature, in my collection.

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