Devin Haney got the fight he wanted the most. The American agreed to meet with George Kambosos Jr. June 5 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. In the US, this fight will be broadcast on ESPN. Thus, for the first time in the era of four belts, all lightweight titles will be on the line for him.
As part of Haney's deal with Lou DiBella, Kambosos' promoter, and Bob Arum's Top Rank company, which has an exclusive content deal with ESPN, Devin agreed to an immediate rematch clause that would obligate him to fight Kambosos again in Australia if he wins. upcoming fight and remains at lightweight. If Haney defeats Kambosos in two fights in a row, he can fight Vasily Lomachenko.
The rematch with Kambosos and the fight with Lomachenko will depend on whether Haney remains in lightweight if he defeats Kambosos.
A press conference on the event is expected to take place in Melbourne this week, although no contracts have been signed as of Sunday. Tickets for the event will go on sale at a later date.
Haney's decision ended a tumultuous week and a half during which Lomachenko withdrew from his June 5 fight against Kambosos due to Russia's military occupation of his native Ukraine.
After that, DiBella negotiated with DAZN to have the streaming service show Kambosos-Heini and an immediate rematch to his subscribers if Haney wins. At the end of last week, those talks came to nothing, and DiBella decided to try and get Kambosos-Haney on ESPN.
Haney's last six fights have been on DAZN, which, through a partnership with Matchroom Boxing Eddie Hearn, has made a significant financial commitment to the WBC lightweight world champion. However, DiBella and Kambosos had their own leverage as Kambosos holds the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO lightweight titles.
The Australian government has also taken significant action to support Kambosos' first defense of his lightweight titles to promote tourism in Melbourne, which has a large Greek population. Kambosos was born and raised in Sydney but is of Greek descent.
Haney has publicly stated that he will accept the same financial terms that Lomachenko accepted for the Kambosos fight if offered. DiBella Haney's offer, who was not contractually linked to DAZN or Matchroom, was at least equivalent to the deal Lomachenko accepted for the June 5 fight.
In addition to a full title unification, the upcoming bout means Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) and Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) will finally have the opportunity to determine who is the true WBC lightweight champion.
