WBC Lightweight Title Betting Preview: George Kambosos Jr. vs Devin Haney

George Kambosos Jr. is an underdog against Devin Haney for Sunday’s fight that will decide an undisputed lightweight champion for the first time in the four-belt era.

Author:
Doug Vazquez
Publish date:
Jun 3, 2022

George Kambosos Jr. will enter Marvel Stadium in Melbourne in front of what is sure to be an electric crowd squarely in the corner of the native Australian.

After his huge upset of Teofimo Lopez in November 2021, Kambosos (+145) will make the ring walk Saturday night (Sunday in Australia) in attempt to pull off another upset over the favored American fighter in Devin Haney (-167).

The stakes are extremely high as the winner will be the undisputed lightweight champion of the world, a stunning accomplishment in the “four belt” era.

Bet on This Fight at SI Sportsbook

Jan 19, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; George Kambosos Jr (white/black trunks) and Rey Perez (not pictured) box during a lightweight boxing match at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Kambosos Jr won via unanimous decision. — Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

George Kambosos Jr. vs Devin Haney

Date/Time: Saturday, June 4, 2022 | 9 p.m. ET
Location: Marvel Stadium | Melbourne, Australia

Kambosos was a massive 6-1 underdog entering his lafight against Lopez, so playing this role is not new to him. With the oddsmakers at SI Sportsbook are giving the nod to Haney as the favorite, they are showing they don’t have 100% confidence in Kambosos being among the realm of “elite” boxers just yet.

With the contrasting styles of boxing displayed by these fighters, I expect this to be a very strategic bout with both boxers feeling the other one out in the early rounds.

Kambosos trained hard for this fight and has also been putting in some mic work this week in an attempt to get under Haney’s skin. Kambosos will be looking to put heavy pressure on Haney and I think it will ultimately be his downfall in this bout.

Haney is a very good defensive fighter and will look to control the pace and turn this into a technical bout rather than a slugfest. There was also news Friday morning that Haney’s father was granted a visa to Australia to be in the corner for his son’s fight. I think this also gives Haney a slight edge and added motivation.

I ultimately see this going to the scorecards with Haney coming out ahead.