Australian boxer George Kambosos yesterday made weight on his second attempt for his world lightweight unification title fight against American Devin Haney.
The US-based Kambosos missed the 135-pound (61.2kg) limit initially, weighing in at 135.36 pounds.
He had two hours to return to the scales to ensure today’s fight before an expected crowd of 50,000 at Marvel Stadium could officially go ahead.
Photo: AFP
He returned 70 minutes later and weighed 134.36 pounds. He thrust his arms in the air once he made the weight and glared menacingly at Haney’s camp.
Looking to defend his three world titles in the division and take Haney’s prized WBC belt, Kambosos even removed all of his clothing during his first attempt, but was still over the limit during the weigh-in at Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park.
Haney weighed in successfully on his first attempt at 134.92 pounds and criticized Kambosos, tweeting a clown emoji.
Photo: AFP
“He ain’t made weight,” Haney wrote. “I’m a true champion and true champions makes weight.”
Kambosos, 28, holds the WBO, WBA and IBF lightweight titles. He comes into the fight with an undefeated record of 20-0 with 10 KOs and won all three of his world titles when he beat Teofimo Lopez in 2019.
Haney is 23 and has an undefeated record of 27-0 with 15 KOs. He also had an amateur record of 138-8 and turned pro at the age of 17.
Former Australian boxer Jeff Fenech, who won world titles in three weight classes, joked during his television commentary that “you should never trust hotel scales.”
Fenech later praised Kambosos for taking on such a strong fighter in his first bout in Australia in five years, but predicted Haney would win the 12-round match.
Haney received good news when his appeal against the initial denial of a visa for his trainer and father, Bill, had been approved.
“Of course I’m happy to have my dad, but nothing changes,” Haney told FightTV. “I’ll still follow the same blueprint and do what we have to do to get the job done.”
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