- George Kambosos fails to make weight for the world lightweight title bout against Devin Haney.
- The Australian owner of WBA, IBF, and WBO titles was 0.36 pounds overweight for the 135-pound limit battle.
- Unbeaten American Haney had his father granted an 11th-hour visa to fight in Melbourne.
- WBA, IBF, WBO and WBC lightweight belts will be on line for the first time in modern boxing history.
- Haney is defending his WBC title against Kambosos at Marvel Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday.
George Kambosos was criticized as not being “a true champion” after failing to make weight for his bout with Devin Haney to become the undisputed and unified lightweight world champion.
Longtime WBC champion Haney, an unbeaten American with a 27-0 record, weighed in at 134.92 pounds (61.19 kg) for Sunday’s mega fight in Melbourne.
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The Australian Kambosos, who owns the WBA, IBF, and WBO titles, was 0.36 pounds overweight for the 135-pound limit battle when he got into the ring.
After changing his underpants and then removing all clothing in an attempt to make the grade, he was given two hours to eliminate the additional pounds.
Also undefeated at 20-0, Kambosos returned 75 minutes later to weigh in at 134.49 pounds, but Haney was astonished.
“He sucked up, he’s dry. But I’m a true champion and true champions make weight,” said the American who also got a huge boost with his father and lead trainer Bill granted an 11th-hour visa.
Bill Haney was first denied entry into Australia due to a thirty-year-old drug conviction.
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All four boxing bodies at stake
Haney, who successfully defended his WBC title for the fourth time in December, defeating challenger Joseph Diaz by unanimous decision, is regarded as the favorite for the contest at Marvel Stadium in front of an expected 50,000 spectators.
For the first time in modern boxing history, the lightweight belts of the sport’s four sanctioning bodies — WBA, IBF, WBO, and WBC — are at stake.
Whoever wins will be the first undisputed lightweight champion since Pernell Whitaker in 1992, and the first since the beginning of the four-belt system in 2004.
Kambosos, who refined his skills as Manny Pacquiao’s former sparring partner, is the current WBA, IBF, and WBO champion after surprising Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden in November.
He asserted that his plan to unsettle Haney included arriving overweight.
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“Art of war, baby. Deception. Let them believe everything,” he said. “Everything is for a cause, everything is for a process.
“It changes his mindset now. Bring it on, I’m ready.”
Initially, Kambosos was scheduled to defend his title against Vasiliy Lomachenko, but those preparations fell through when the Ukrainian elected to remain in his nation due to the Russian invasion.
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