Top Rank Boxing/ESPN Release – 20 for 20: Edgar Berlanga Decisions Alexis Angulo Berlanga improves to 20-0 on the eve of Puerto Rican Day Parade

NEW YORK (June 11, 2022) — Super middleweight contender Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga didn’t get the knockout, but in front of the Puerto Rican faithful, he got the job done. Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs) defeated two-time world title challenger Alexis Angulo (27-3, 23 KOs) by unanimous decision (99-91, 99-91, and 98-92) over 10 rounds in front of 4,357 fans Saturday evening at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

It was Berlanga’s first headlining appearance on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, a tradition made popular by 2022 International Hall of Fame inductee Miguel Cotto. 

While Berlanga rose to fame following 16 first-round knockouts to start his career, he won this fight by boxing and using his jab to offset the plodding-yet-aggressive Angulo. An Angulo uppercut bloodied Berlanga’s nose in the fourth, and Berlanga appeared to attempt to bite Angulo in the seventh. Berlanga landed clean left hooks and right hands in the ninth and 10th rounds, but his Colombian foe ate all the shots and kept coming.

“Mentally, I felt good. I felt happy the whole training camp. I moved the training camp to Puerto Rico, and I can’t be more grateful to be on my island training,” Berlanga said. “I did a full camp for this fight, and you see the difference tonight.

“He was throwing elbows. I was about to do a Mike Tyson on him. He kept throwing his elbows, and I didn’t want to get cut.”

Angulo said, “I think we both had a solid performance. He’s a young fighter, he’s a strong fighter, but nonetheless I think we both did well. I think I did better than him.”

Junior Lightweight: Henry Lebron (16-0, 10 KOs) UD 8 Luis Lebron (18-4-1, 11 KOs), Scores: 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74. In the all-Lebron Bowl, Henry Lebron made it 16 in a row with a masterclass in boxing off the back foot. Luis Lebron pushed the pace in the bout’s final stages, but Henry Lebron early work proved too much for him to overcome. Henry Lebron had the advantage in power shots landed, 88-62.

Junior Featherweight: Victor Santillan (12-0, 4 KOs) UD 8 Carlos Caraballo (15-2, 14 KOs), Scores: 78-74 2x and 77-75. In this all-southpaw affair, Santillan upset the Puerto Rican crowd favorite with a disciplined display of smart pressure. Santillan stunned Caraballo in the fourth and seventh rounds, doing enough in the eyes of the judges to pull away. Santillan had fought most of his career in the Dominican Republic, but in his second bout on American soil, he authored his signature win.

Junior Welterweight: Dakota Linger (13-5-3, 9 KOs) TKO 2 Josue Vargas (20-3, 9 KOs), 2:06. West Virginia native Linger refused to read the script, shocking Vargas with a brutal display of power punching. Early in the second Linger landed an overhand right that dropped Vargas, although the referee did not rule it a knockdown. Sensing the end was near, Linger pressed forward and floored Vargas with an uppercut. Vargas rose gingerly, and following a barrage featuring dozens of winging blows, the bout was stopped.

Lightweight: Armani Almestica (6-0, 6 KOs) TKO 6 Eliseo Villalobos (2-3, 1 KO), 1:47. Southpaw puncher Almestica kept his perfect knockout rate alive with a one-sided drubbing of Villalobos, a native of Simi Valley, California. In the sixth round, Almestica landed a straight left hand that forced Villalobos back a step. Due to the accumulation of punishment, referee Shadi Murdaugh stopped the contest.

Featherweight: Orlando Gonzalez (18-1, 11 KOs) TKO 5 Pablo Cruz (22-5-1, 6 KOs), 1:00. Gonzalez was last seen losing his ‘0’ by unanimous decision last October to Cuban star Robeisy Ramirez, but the Puerto Rican southpaw returned with a vengeance. He battered Houston native Cruz, stunning his outmatched foe at the end of the second round. By the fifth, it was target practice, and the bout was halted following a series of right hooks to the head and body.

Junior Welterweight: Omar Rosario (7-0, 2 KOs) UD 6 Julio Rosa (4-1, 1 KO), Scores: 59-55 and 60-54 2x. It was all Rosario in this battle of unbeatens, as the 140-pound upstart initiated the action. Rosa was never in danger of being stopped and even opened up a cut under Rosario’s right eye. In the sixth round, Rosario landed a series of left hooks to put a stamp on his domination. 

Lightweight: Frevian Gonzalez (5-1, 1 KO) UD 4 Refugio Montellano (2-1, 1 KO) Scores: 40-36 3x. Almost one year to the day since he suffered his first professional defeat, Gonzalez, from Cidra, Puerto Rico, rebounded in fine form in front of the partisan crowd. The 5’7 pressure fighter ripped body shots to Montellano’s midsection and swept all four rounds.

Flyweight: Christina Cruz (3-0) UD 4 Maryguenn Vellinga (3-3-2, 2 KOs), Scores: 39-37 and 40-36 2x. Former U.S. amateur star Cruz used her jab to counter the aggressive Vellinga in the opening fight of the evening. It was a rematch of their November 2021 fight, which Cruz also won by unanimous decision.

# # # 

There’s a New Undisputed World Champion, and his name is Devin Haney

ESPN: Haney vs. Kambosos clip

Haney, Kambosos post-fight presser

Unbeaten WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney (28-0, 15 KOs)  traveled more than 9,400 miles from the United States to Melbourne, Australia, defeated unified WBA/WBO and IBF/Ring Magazine champion, George Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs), and became the Undisputed World Lightweight Champion on Sunday.

Haney, who has drawn comparisons to Floyd Mayweather, Jr., boxed the fight of his career against a previously unbeaten unified titlist in his native country. More than 41,120 people packed Marvel Stadium; the second largest attendance in Australian boxing history behind Manny Pacquiao vs. John Horn (2017). Haney-Kambosos also surpassed the record Jeff Fenech vs. Azumah Nelson set in 1992 in the state of Victoria, Australia.

“This is a dream come true,” Haney said. “I was going through it without my dad being here because I knew it was a big moment for us. We both dreamed of this. Since we started out, we said we wanted to be the best. It would have hurt me to accomplish this without him. I’m so thankful that we were able to accomplish this together.”

Haney, making the 5th defense of the WBC 135-lb. title he won at Madison Square Garden in 2019, fought another unbeaten champion; who also won unified titles at the Garden last year in a war with Teofimo Lopez.

Many anticipated Kambosos’ toughness, speed, and durability to challenge Haney. Instead, this one of the easiest fights of Haney’s boxing career. Haney was “comfortable” in there from the start.

“I was comfortable,” Haney said. “I was just sticking to the game plan. The game plan was to go there and hit and not get hit, and I did that for the majority of the fight. I took the last round off just because I knew I was comfortably ahead, but I fought a good, smart fight.”

Haney, under the guidance of his father Bill and Yoel Judah, the father of two-division world champion Zab Judah, pepper sprayed that left-jabs across Kambosos’ face for twelve rounds. By the second round, the left side of Kambosos’ face and shoulder started turning red. As the rounds progressed, Kambosos’ neck, back, and shoulders reddened, as well.

Haney hooked off the jab, as well. In addition, Haney used every square-inch of the ring. Haney boxed circles around Kambosos, who kept walking straight-forward into Haney’s left-hand. When Kambosos finally reached past Haney’s jabs, Haney would either feint, duck, or dodge Kambosos’ punches before using sharp combinations.  

The judges scored the fight 116-112 (twice) and 118-110. According to CompuBox punch-stats, Haney landed more total punches (147-100) and out-jabbed Kambosos (78-32). During the ‘Championship Rounds’ (9-12), Haney more than doubled the total number of punches Kambosos landed (56-24).

“I handicapped him of his best things,” Haney said. “He wanted to land the overhand right, and he wanted to land the big left hook. I handicapped him. I was fighting both ways. When I would go to the left, I would fight his right hand. When I would go to the right, I would fight his left hook. And he couldn’t hit me with neither one of them.

Much was discussed late in the week, as Kambosos failed to make weight on the first attempt and was given up to 2 hours to finally make the 135-lb. limit, which he then did. Might it have been a factor? Some may disagree.

“That definitely was not a factor,” Kambosos said. “He boxed his game. He moved. He boxed. He didn’t really want to come into the fight too much, but that’s his game, so I give him respect. I’m going to change a few things and get him back at the end of this year. All respect to him.”

Kambosos, who has a rematch clause and is looking forward to fighting Haney again in Australia in the fall added: “I take the risks. I fight the best in the business. At the end of the day, I didn’t have to fight him. Not many wanted to fight him. But I gave him the shot right away, so I’m sure we’ll do it again.”

There’s a New Undisputed World Champion, and his name is Devin Haney

In other bouts (Top Rank Release): Moloney Crushes Palicte

Two-time bantamweight title challenger Jason “Mayhem” Moloney (24-2, 19 KOs) delivered a spectacular third-round technical knockout victory against rugged Filipino Aston “Mighty” Palicte (28-5-1, 23 KOs). Moloney, inspired by the cheers of his countrymen, initiated the bout with a firm jab in the first round before finding his rhythm and attacking the body in the second. By the following round, Moloney had his target set and landed a perfectly-timed one-two combo that sent Palicte to the canvas. Moloney then ended matters with a quick flurry that forced the referee to put a halt to the fight at 2:35 of the third. Moloney retained his WBC Silver Bantamweight Title and added to his collection the vacant WBO International belt. 

In other results: BANTAMWEIGHT: Andrew Moloney (24-2, 16 KOs) TKO 2 Alexander Espinoza (21-4-2, 8 KOs). Time: 3:00. CRUISERWEIGHT: David Nyika (3-0, 2 KOS) UD 5 Karim Maatalla (2-2, 2 KOs). Scores: 49-46, 48-47 and 49-46. HEAVYWEIGHT: Hemi Ahio (19-0, 14 KOs) TKO 1 Christian Ndzie Tsoye (5-5-2, 4 KOs). HEAVYWEIGHT: Lucas Browne (31-3, 27 KOs) KO 1 Junior Fa (19-2, 10 KOs). Time: 1:58. JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT: Terry Nickolas (2-1-1,  2 KOS) DRAW 6 Lachlan Higgins (7-4-2, 2 KOs). Scores: 58-56 Higgins, 57-57 2x. FLYWEIGHT: Taylah Robertson (5-1, 1 KO) UD 5 Sarah Higginson (3-1-1, 1 KO). Scores: 50-45 3x. WELTERWEIGHT: Yoel Angeloni (1-0) UD 4 Ken Aitken (3-1, 1 KO). Scores: 39-37 2x and 40-36.

The 2022 PFL Season resumes on July 1, featuring Kayla Harrison vs. Julia Budd live from Atlanta

SECOND HALF OF THE 2022 PFL SEASON CONTINUES WITH PFL 6 FEATURING WOMEN’S LIGHTWEIGHTS AND WELTERWEIGHTS JULY 1 ON ESPN, ESPN DEPORTES AND SIMULCAST ON ESPN+ AT 8 P.M. ET PFL 6 is headlined by two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and two-time PFL Champion Kayla Harrison vs. Canadian MMA Icon Julia Budd, live from OTE Arena in Atlanta, GAWelterweight Super Star Rory MacDonald returns for his second bout of the year against Sweden’s Sadibou Sy PFL 6 airs Friday, July 1 at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and continues at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN (simulcast on ESPN+)

NEW YORK (June 1, 2022) –The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, today announced its main event and full card matchups for PFL 6, taking place on July 1 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The sport’s most dominant woman Kayla Harrison will headline the event against one of the most accomplished women’s MMA fighters, Canadian Julia Budd. Harrison, who remains undefeated in MMA competition, will take on Budd hoping to add to her Regular Season point total, while Budd, will likely have to defeat Harrison if she hopes to make the PFL Playoffs. Rory MacDonald returns to the PFL SmartCage after a first-round stoppage that saw the “Red King” earn six points in his first bout of the season. MacDonald can clinch the #1 seed in the Playoffs for the Welterweight Division with a stoppage win in any round. He squares off with Swedish striker Sadibou Sy. Sy will likely need a win to keep his 2022 PFL Playoff hopes alive. Two-time PFL Welterweight Champion Ray Cooper III has his back against the wall, after failing to make weight before his first fight of the season. Cooper III faces MMA veteran Brett Cooper. The two-time champion will need to make quick work of a very savvy opponent if he hopes to head back to the postseason for the fourth time. Brett Cooper is looking to bounce back from a loss at PFL 3. In the main card opener, 2018 PFL Welterweight Champion Magomed Magomedkerimov and Brazilian Joao Zeferino are set to face off. Zeferino is coming off of a hard fought a split-decision loss to 2022 PFL Challenger Series contestant Dilano Taylor. Magomedkerimov, who is making his 2022 PFL Regular Season debut, will look for a repeat of 2021 when he was able to secure a playoff berth with a first-round finish in his only Regular Season bout. “The final event of the 2022 PFL Regular Season promises non-stop action from the greatest athletes in the world,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “The stakes remain high as the PFL Playoffs approach, this is the action only the PFL can provide to MMA fans around the world.” “PFL 6 will showcase some of the best fighters in all of MMA,” said Ray Sefo, President of Fighter Operations. “The Welterweights and Women’s Lightweight divisions will put on a spectacular event for PFL fans ahead of the Playoffs.” The second half of the 2022 PFL Season begins June 17 on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ in primetime. The remaining Regular Season events will take place on June 24 and July 1. Tickets to see PFL live at OTE Arena in Atlanta are available now. PFL is the first and only MMA league with a true sports-season format where elite fighters from around the world compete in a Regular Season, Playoffs and Championship. The four competitors in each division who earn the most points during the Regular Season, advance to the win-or-go-home Playoffs, followed by the biggest night in MMA – the PFL World Championship – with each winner going home with the $1 million prize. PFL is the #2 MMA company worldwide by all key metrics, including distribution reach, broadcast and streaming audience per event, and fighter roster quality. The PFL talent roster is world-class, with 25% of the fighters independently ranked in the top-25 of their respective weight class, including 2x PFL Champions Kayla Harrison and Ray Cooper III, former Bellator Champions Rory MacDonald and Julia Budd, and former UFC Champion Anthony Pettis. Full Card: ESPN Card (Simulcast on ESPN Deportes and ESPN+) Kayla Harrison vs. Julia Budd Rory MacDonald vs. Sadibou Sy Ray Cooper III vs. Brett Cooper Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Joao Zeferino ESPN+ Card Jarrah Al Silawi vs. Magomed Umalatov Larissa Pacheco vs. Genah Fabian Nikolai Aleksakhin vs. Gleison Tibau Marina Mokhnatkina vs. Abigail Montes Martina Jindrova vs. Zamzagul Fayzallanova Olena Kolesnyk vs. Vanessa Melo Women’s Lightweight Welterweight About Professional Fighters LeagueProfessional Fighters League (PFL) is the fastest growing and most innovative sports league.  PFL is the #2 MMA company worldwide and the only with the sports-season format where individual fighters compete in Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship.PFL is primetime in the U.S on ESPN and ESPN+ and broadcast and streamed worldwide to 160 countries with over 25 media distribution partners including Channel 4, DirecTV, RMC Sport, Eurosport, Sky Sports.  The PFL roster is world-class, with 25% of PFL fighters independently ranked in the top 25 in the world. The PFL proprietary SmartCage data and analytics platform powers real-time betting and provides next-gen viewing experience. PFL has over two-dozen blue-chip brand sponsors such as Anheuser-Busch, IBM, GEICO, DraftKings, Bose, Socios.com, Air Force Reserve, and US Marine Corps.  PFL has raised $200 million of capital to date from major investors, including Ares, Luxor Capital, Waverley Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, Swan Ventures, Knighthead, Legends, and several NBA, MLB, and NHL team owners.MMA is the growth sport of this decade, with 600 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demo of any sport, and true global revenue streams.PFLmma.com; Instagram (@PFLmma); Twitter (@PFLMMA); Facebook (/PFLmma)

Golden Boy Release: Ryan Garcia vs. Javier Fortuna on July 16, in L.A.

LOS ANGELES, CA (June 3, 2022): The 12-round lightweight clash between undefeated, lightweight superstar Ryan Garcia (22-0, 18KOs) of Victorville, CA, and former two-time world champion Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna (37-3-1, 26 KOs) of La Romana, DR will take place in Downtown Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, July 16.  Fighting in Southern California for most of his career, this will be the first time Garcia has fought in Downtown Los Angeles since 2017.  The fight, originally scheduled to take place in 2021, has become a grudge match between Garcia and Fortuna and will be streamed live worldwide, exclusively on DAZN. 

Tickets for Garcia vs. Fortuna go on sale Tuesday, June 7th at 10:00 a. m. PT and are priced at $500, $300, $200, $100, $75, and $50 not including applicable service charges. Tickets will be available for purchase online at AXS.com, CryptoArena.com and GoldenBoyPromotions.com.

“I am so excited to be fighting at the world famous Crypto.com Arena on July 16th,” said Ryan Garcia. “Let’s turn LA upside down.”

“We are excited to welcome Golden Boy and this marquee fight between Ryan Garcia and Javier Fortuna to downtown Los Angeles and Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, July 16th,” Lee Zeidman, President, Crypto.com Arena.

Crypto.com Arena has undoubtedly developed an unrivaled reputation for excellence having established itself as one of the world’s busiest and most successful venues in the world. As the home of four professional sports franchises – the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers, the NHL’s LA Kings and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks – Crypto.com Arena has proven to be a home court advantage for the local teams. The AEG owned and operated arena continues to distinguish itself as the host of major, high-profile events of national and international distinction including the 2004, 2011 & 2018 NBA All-Star Games, 2002 & 2017 NHL All-Star Game, 2000 Democratic National Convention, 2009 World Figure Skating Championships and 19 of the last 22 GRAMMY Awards shows. The past twenty-two years have also been marked with performances and special events that brought international stature to the downtown Los Angeles venue including concerts Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Prince, U2, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Usher, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Keith Urban, Roger Waters, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, Michael Bublé, Carrie Underwood and Justin Timberlake, as well as world championship boxing, family shows and special events. Hosting over 250 events a year, the arena’s reputation for world-class amenities, features and commitment to quality of service and the guest experience is second to none.

Garcia vs. Fortuna is a 12-round lightweight fight presented by Golden Boy in association with Sampson Boxing. The event is sponsored by Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle” and “BetOnline – Your Online Sportsbook Experts.” The fight will take place on Saturday, July 16 at the Crypto.com Arena and will be streamed live worldwide on DAZN.

SHOWTIME Release: Unbeaten Super Lightweight Karl Dargan, Plus Exciting Prospect Travon Marshall Return This Saturday, Presented by Premier Boxing Champions

MINNEAPOLIS – June 1, 2022 – Unbeaten super lightweight Karl Dargan will face
Alfred Santiago in a 10-round showdown, while exciting super welterweight
prospect Travon Marshall duels Marcus Washington in a six-round attraction
highlighting non-televised undercard action this Saturday, June 4 in a Premier
Boxing Champions event from The Armory in Minneapolis.

The card is topped by a much-anticipated showdown between unified WBC and
WBO Super Bantamweight World Champion Stephen Fulton Jr. and former unified
champion Danny Roman headlining live on SHOWTIME beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6
p.m. PT.

In the co-main event, WBA Super Middleweight Champion and Minneapolis
fan-favorite David Morrell Jr. steps in to defend his title against Kalvin Henderson.

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions and Warriors Boxing, are
on sale now and can be purchased at the Armory at http://ArmoryMN.com/ and
through Ticketmaster. The Fulton vs. Roman fight is promoted in association with
Thompson Boxing.

The jam-packed non-televised lineup will also feature California featherweight
prospect José Sánchez (8-0, 5 KOs) in an eight-round fight against fellow unbeaten
Ariel De La Torre (8-0, 6 KOs) and Las Vegas’ Demler Zamora (8-0, 7 KOs) in a
six-round super featherweight affair taking on Miami’s Raúl Chirino (19-14, 12
KOs).

Plus, Mayweather Promotions prospect and Baltimore-native Malik Warren (6-0, 5
KOs) takes on Puerto Rico’s Pedro Hernández (7-11-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round super
featherweight duel.

Rounding out the card are four Kazakh fighters looking to remain unbeaten.
Middleweight Abilkhan Amankul makes his pro debut in a four-round fight against
Washington’s Devontae McDonald (1-0, 1 KO), super welterweight Ablaikhan
Zhussupov (1-0) faces Mexico’s Edgar Ramírez (18-20-1, 14 KOs) in a four-round
attraction, super bantamweight Yevgeniy Pavlov (6-0, 4 KOs) challenges Mexico’s
Alexis Salido (2-2, 1 KO) in a six-round showdown and super middleweight Bek
Nurmaganbet (6-0, 4 KOs) battles Pennsylvania’s Khainell Wheeler (7-1, 6 KOs) in
a six-round duel.

A Philadelphia-native, Dargan (20-1, 10 KOs) returned to the ring for the first time
since November 2018 last July, stopping Ivan Delgado in three rounds. Dargan has
fought professionally since 2007, turning pro after a sensational amateur career that
included two U.S. Amateur Championships and a Pan American Games gold medal.

He will be opposed by the Dominican Republic’s Santiago (13-2, 5 KOs) who
challenged Devin Haney for the lightweight title in 2019, losing a 12-round decision.
As he heads into his second fight stateside as a pro, Santiago most recently
dropped a May 2021 contest to contender Ricardo Nunez.

At just 21-years-old, Marshall (5-0, 4 KOs) has quickly shown the skill, power and
poise to become a highly-regarded prospect in just five fights. Born in Landover,
Maryland and now fighting out of Capitol Heights, Marshall will enter the ring at The
Armory for the fourth time, having most recently knocked out the previously
unbeaten Timothy Parks at the venue in March. He takes on the Toledo, Ohio native
Washington (5-3, 2 KOs), who’s last contest saw him drop a decision to unbeaten
Reggie Harris Jr. in October 2021.

DiBella Entertainment Release: How did George Kambosos, Jr. become the best story in boxing?

Before Kambosos returns to the ring this weekend, let’s look back, in his own words, at the journey he traveled to become one of the best stories in boxing:

·        JRE MMA Show #116 with George Kambosos • The Joe Rogan Experience (spotify.com)

·        Episode 207 – George Kambosos Jr. – Walking The Floor  

·        George Kambosos Jr. interview w/ Teddy Atlas – Teofimo Lopez Upset, Who’s Next & More – YouTube

·        George Kambosos Jr. Is A Gentleman | Barstool Bets

 MELBOURNE, Australia (June 1, 2022) – Hard to believe that a little more than six months ago, on November 27, 2021, George “Ferocious” Kambosos, Jr., (20-0, 10 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, a former sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao and underdog to everyone but himself, transformed from road warrior to unified world lightweight champion, scoring a shocking first-round knockdown en route to a split decision victory over Teófimo López, at Madison Square Garden, to collect his IBF, WBO, WBA, WBC Franchise and The Ring lightweight world titles. On Saturday, June 4 (June 5 in Australia), Kambosos will take on his second consecutive undefeated world champion when he goes mano a mano with WBC world champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (27-0, 15 KOs), from Las Vegas, Nevada, for the undisputed lightweight championship at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It will be the first time Kambosos has fought on his home soil since 2017. 

Promoted by DiBella Entertainment, Ferocious Promotions, Top Rank, Devin Haney Promotions, Duco Events and TEG Sport, Kambosos vs. Haney will be broadcast to the U.S., at 9 p.m. EDT / 6 p.m. PDT, live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+.

“The reason Kambosos vs. Haney will be one of the biggest fights Australia has ever hosted is not just because George is a native son, but also because he chose to take the hard road — traveling the world to chase his dream of becoming world champion. The fact that George chose to make his first defense against another undefeated world champion shows the confidence he has in himself and that he embodies the Australian and Greek spirit of being a warrior and a winner,” said Lou DiBella, Kambosos’ promoter.

Both George Kambosos & Devin Haney Marvel at opportunity to become “Undisputed Champion.”

Melbourne, Australia’s Marvel Stadium will be the setting for when George Kambosos, Jr. (20-0, 10 KOs) battles Devin Haney (27-0, 12 KOs) for the Undisputed World Lightweight Championship. This epic 135-lb. clash comes just one week after Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ spectacular, one-punch knockout of Rolando Rollins at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  

“KAMBOSOS vs. HANEY: MELBOURNE SUPREMACY” will be televised live in the U.S on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ this Saturday, beginning at 9 PM/6 PT

“It’s great to be back home,” Kambosos said. “Five years of hard work. Everyone knows the story. I had to go through every bit of adversity. I had to earn my belts, earned them the hardest way. Not like this guy. He got given a present. I earned mine. I took the best out. It is great to be back home, great to have the support. I know that stadium will be buzzing with my support, but I just love to fight. Me and him in there, in that ring. It’s a great moment for Australian boxing, and I am very excited.”

The ‘Road to Undisputed,’ everyone thought would go through Vasyl Lomachenko, whom many considered the best boxer in the world. Lomachenko, a three-division word champion, made it look easy; routing some of the top fighters on the planet at 135. Suddenly Lomachenko dropped a decision against Teofimo Lopez, whom in his first title defense, lost the titles to Kambosos, a relative unknown, unbeaten, and underestimated boxer-puncher from Australia.

Kambosos-Lopez was a compelling battle that electrified the Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City. Kambosos dropped Lopez; engaging the hard-punching previously unbeaten New Yorker into an exciting clash.  Teofimo knocked Kambosos to the canvas late, but the Australian native held-on to secure the biggest win of his career.

“I took out Teofimo Lopez,” Kambosos said. “Obviously, this guy… I was prepared to fight Lomachenko. That was done. He couldn’t make it because of the {Ukraine} war. No problem, Devin, wanna step up? And he did, OK, but he was forced into this. He’s not my mandatory.”

The 28-year-old Kambosos, making the first defense of the unified titles months ago, could have fought anyone else. But Kambosos is so determined to prove himself, he opted to fight Haney, the unbeaten 23-year-old WBC lightweight champion of almost three years.

Making the fifth defense of the WBC title, Haney has had more world title fights and has fought the better opposition overall: Yuriorks Gamboa, Jorge Linares, and Jo-Jo Diaz. Kambosois could have went another direction, but opted to fight Haney.

“I could’ve fought anyone,” Kambosos said. “I could’ve fought the garbage men outside if I wanted to, but I chose you. You’re not my mandatory. I picked you. You’re here, and everything is a go for Sunday.”

Kambosos is extremely confident in his skills and ability will be more than enough to defeat Haney; who has outclassed each and every opponent he’s fought. There are those that picked Haney to actually stop Kambosos.

“This means everything,” Haney said. “It’s a dream come true of mine since I was a young kid. This is the biggest achievement of boxing. I can’t wait for June 5 to come.”

“There’s nothing he can do in the ring that’s better than me, and I will show it on fight night. I take nothing away from him. I think that he’s a good fighter, but I just think I’m on a whole different level.”