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“I Was Handicapping Him”: Devin Haney Reacts to His Massive Win Over George Kambosos Jr.

Published 06/05/2022, 3:05 AM EDT

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Not one or two, but with five mega titles on the line, Devin Haney squared off with George Kambosos Jr. inside the Marvel Stadium, Melbourne. This was the biggest event in Australia’s boxing history and therefore, coming into the bout, Kambosos Jr. was a crowd favorite. ‘Ferocious’ entered the bout with four of his lightweight titles and an impressive win over Teofimo Lopez last year in November.

Devin Haney, 23, with 27 [now 28] victories in pro boxing, entered carrying massive expectations as well. It was his 28th professional fight, and he had the chance to become the universally recognized, undisputed lightweight champion.

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Watch This Story – George Kambosos Jr. vs Devin Haney Stats: Record, Reach, Height, Weight, And Knockout Ratio

The bout went the entire distance of the scheduled twelve rounds, and Haney won, displaying overwhelming boxing skills. Here is what happened.

Devin Haney took control as soon as the bell rang

Without wasting a second in the fight, Haney demanded control. As soon as the bell rang, he occupied the inside of the pocket and let his jabs run. Like most of his other fights, Haney kept his jab busy and in return, it helped him very well calculate the distance. Haney stayed loyal to his strategy and maintained a top guard, along with a wide stance.

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Although Kambosos Jr. was the taller [5′ 9½″] competitor inside, because of his fighting style, he could barely use any of his advantages. Haney repeatedly went to the body, switched to the head, and cut some beautiful angles while fighting. Compared to the JoJo Diaz fight, Haney, today, was more active but equally patient. As a result, overshadowing Kambosos with his fighting IQ, Haney sealed the deal in the superb night.

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What worked for Haney?

The best thing about Haney is that he relies upon basic punches and it noticeably does him good. Today was no exception. He ducked and countered with hooks or a right hand to the body. Maintained good posture and accurately turned his rear leg to land that straight hand. Thoroughly, he kept his lead hand busy and almost always adjacent to Kambosos’ head.

Haney fought with an excellent game plan, and it adequately rewarded him. All the present judges scored the bout in Haney’s favor and he won by a decision.

Haney Handicapping Kambosos Jr.

For Devin Haney, now 28-o, the game plan was to handicap Kambosos Jr. As he said after the fight, he studied Kambosos day in and day out, and diligently looked for ways to eliminate his best attributes.

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“It was me handicapping him, his best attributes. We studied him, day in and day out. I knew he wanted to come with the big right hand, overhand. I knew he wanted to come with the hook so I would feel him bracing for it. I would know when he would throw it. And when he would do it, I would make a miss.”

Looks like Haney studied his opponent well, like a scholar. As a result, with flying colors, he passed the test.

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What do you think about Haney’s performance tonight? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Samrat Sardar

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Samrat Sardar is a Boxing writer at EssentiallySports and is currently a final year undergraduate student of English literature. A passionate content creator, he has been writing since his high school days, and possesses work experience as a commercial writer for companies such as WordsKraft among others. Samrat believes he fell in love with boxing the day he watched Vasiliy Lomachenko share the ring with Guillermo Rigondeaux.
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Edited by:

Sreeda U M