As far as big-money title rematches go, the hype went into Saturday's Devin Haney-George Kamobosos Jr. showdown.
The Australian native when the two met in June at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium to capture all four recognized world titles. At 135 lbs.
Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs) triggered his contractually mandated automatic rematch to set up this weekend's second assist, relocating near the much smaller Rod Laver Arena.
With Haney installed as high as the 8-1 betting favorite to repeat his success against the 29-year-old Kambosos, who was anythinKambosos (20-1, 10 KOs)g but his "Fierce" nickname inside the ring four months ago, the outcome of the rematch has felt like an early conclusion.
What didn't happen in their first meeting was the exact fireworks that Kambosos predicted during a testy build between the two fighters. Some criticized Kambosos for leaning too heavily on the rematch clause and avoiding putting himself in harm's way.
If someone beats me, I will come back. That fire burns even more. I know my mistakes and have made my changes, and I will be ready to speak in the ring.
Nobody thought I would do something against Lopez, but I did. It is the unknown. You learn to manage time like a champion; it was my time to lose, and now it's my time to get up. again."
Haney hopes to defeat Kambosos in an even more spectacular fashion than the first time, which could help him get into the year-end awards season.
I'm trying to become the best that I can be. I work to achieve it every day, and I am improving. It will be a show in the rematch.
The big question revolves around what Kambosos might try to do differently the second time to throw Haney off his game. It was a topic that Kambosos remained silent on during their confrontation.
I'm looking forward to it, and I hope he'll give it a try," Kambosos said. Only this counts now. Your success is only up to a point; you have to do it repeatedly."
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Cherneka Johnson (c) vs. Susie Ramadan, IBF super Whether or not Kambosos refused to risk October 15ring their first meeting to sustain the necessary rematch remains debatable. But he will need to be a more aggressive fighter if he hopes to compensate for the gap he faces regarding speed and technique.
The problem with Kambosos needing to hurt Haney, or at least lure him into a shootout similar to the one he did against Lopez, was that Lopez welcomed that style of fighting because of the small tear in his esophagus that compromised his breathing.
The fact that Lopez eventually went the distance and recovered to take down Kambosos, and nearly outplayed him on the scorecards, doesn't necessarily help his chances of upsetting Haney.
Worse yet, the more reckless Kambosos gets, the more he should play into Haney's carefully crafted network of stiff counterpunches. Switching his strategy to an all-body focus could help Kambosos possibly slow down Haney. But even that leaves it vulnerable to being surgically dissected.
But unless he's willing to risk it all to land that big shot who could play a role in altering momentum, the two fighters are too far apart in terms of ability.
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