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The fight for the world title between George Kambosos Jr and American Devin Haney resumes on Sunday after the Australian gained weight dramatically the second time around.
In chaotic and explosive scenes at Margaret Court Arena, Kambosos initially fell short of the 135-pound mark for the lightweight blockbuster, tipping the scales at 135.36 pounds.
But he returned 70 minutes later after a hot shower and a 134.46-pound “piss” to keep his dream alive of becoming the first boxer in the 18-year four-belt era to unify the lightweight division. Kambosos then triumphantly raised his arms and gestured towards Team Haney with a cut throat.
“Does not change anything. That changes his mindset now. Trust me. art of war. Deception,” Kambosos said. “Bring it on. More than ready. Let’s go. Make them believe that [was a mistake]. Everything is for one thing, one process. Trust me, tomorrow, just be there.”
To defend his three world championship belts and take Haney’s WBC strap, Kambosos even stripped off all his clothes when two guards tried to protect him from cameras with towels, but he was still over the limit on his first weigh-in attempt.
“Maybe I did it on purpose,” Kambosos said before explaining how he did the weight the second time. “I pissed, simple as that,” he said. “I have recovered. I was about to have a Greek coffee, but now that I’ve gained weight, I’m going to have a Greek coffee.”
Amid great drama and vocal support for the Sydney lightweight champion, who draws inspiration from a childhood bullied for being overweight, former champion Jeff Fenech called the miss “unprofessional”. However, he said it wouldn’t be long before Kambosos got under the limit.
“He’s going to have a little sauna and a jump, it’s not a lot of weight, he’ll make it,” Fenech said for the main event. “For me, you always come and check the weight on the official scale. He said he checked them at the hotel and they said he was overweight. A little disappointing. It is customary for you to go and check the official scales. While it doesn’t take that long (to make weight), it can play with your head a bit.”
Officials asked fans not to storm the stage as Kambosos showed up for his second weight attempt, with many Greek supporters chanting their hero’s name. Haney weighed 134.92lbs and slammed kambosos, tweeting a clown emoji before calling the Australian a ‘slut’ and mocking his rival by saying: ‘He’s sucked up, he’s dry I don’t know, it’s, what it is, we still have to go in and fight.”
“I told him he’s not a real champion because real champions make weight. You don’t have to last multiple times to gain weight,” Haney told FightTV. “We’ve been training for six to eight weeks to be prepared to put on weight on the first try, so I told him he wasn’t a true champion and he was a bitch.
“He’s mad about it. He’s upset that he didn’t hit the weight, so he’s trying his best to calm down. Ultimately, tomorrow we will fight whether he gains weight or not.”
As the fighters faced off one final time, Kambosos’ father, Jim, almost physically clashed with members of Haney’s entourage. It was Jim who took 12-year-old George to the Rockdale Police Citizens Youth Club to lose weight. Kambosos rose through the ranks quickly thereafter, turning pro at 18 and winning the NSW title in his third fight and the Australian belt in his sixth.
Despite the weigh-in gimmicks, the unification bout would have taken place at Marvel Stadium even if Kambosos hadn’t made the weight. However, the Sydney slugger would have had his belts stripped regardless of the result.
Meanwhile, Haney’s coaching father Bill has reportedly been granted a visa and will be speeding from Las Vegas to Melbourne for the fight. Bill Haney was originally denied a visa due to a 30-year drug conviction, forcing the boxer to call on Yoel Judah, Zab’s father, as his trainer.
