George Kambosos Jr.’s lightweight reign ended without a title defense when he lost his IBF, WBA, WBO, and WBC franchise titles to Devin Haney in June.
Kambosos did not look like the ferocious fighter he was when he upset Teofimo Lopez in November.
Haney outboxed Kambosos for 12 rounds in the Austrailian’s backyard to score an easy unanimous decision victory.
Although the fight was mostly uneventful, the two will run it back again at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Oct. 16 (Oct. 15 in the United States on ESPN) because the Greek-Australian exercised his contractual right to a rematch.
In an interview with 9News Sydney, Kambosos said he will not repeat the same mistakes he made leading up to the first fight.
“I'm mentally and physically 100% prepared. The first fight I wasn't. I made the mistake by chasing my brand instead of the hard work that got me there,” said Kambosos.
“I hadn't lost in 10 years. I was undefeated for so long. And it was my time to lose. It was my time to say, 'OK. You need to get back to what you do best. You need to learn from certain things. It's an experience.”
Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) used a steady jab throughout the first fight to fend off Kambosos, outlanding his rival 147 to 100.
Should the Top Rank co-promoted Haney be victorious yet again, he'll be presented with a series of lucrative options within the Las Vegas-based company's stable. Chief among them are Shakur Stevenson, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and Lopez.
Kambosos is looking to spoil such plans, and make Haney feel the same struggle he felt.
“You see people turn away from you as soon as you come up and have a loss,” said Kambosos. “I'll make them remember this fight.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.