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Jason Moloney will once again have an up-close view for the undisputed lightweight championship.
The veteran bantamweight contender from Australia is obviously rooting for a different outcome this time around. He also recognizes that countryman George Kambosos once again faces a gargantuan task ahead of his rematch with reigning lightweight king Devin Haney. The second fight comes four months after Haney (28-0, 15KOs) traveled halfway around the world to soundly outpoint Kambosos over twelve rounds this past June 5 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.
Haney and Kambosos meet once again this Saturday (Sunday afternoon local time) at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, with Moloney back in the co-feature slot and with twin brother Andrew on the undercard. The hope is for an Australian trifecta, though Kambosos has the toughest challenge of the trio.
“I will always support my countrymen and would like to see George turn things around and win his belts back,” Moloney told BoxingScene.com. “It is a very tough task as I really rate Devin as a special fighter.”
Prior to the Haney-Kambosos ESPN-televised main event, Moloney (24-2, 19KOs) will face Thailand’s Nawaphon Kaikanha (56-1-1, 46KOs; b/k/a Nawaphon Sor Rungvisai) in a sanctioned WBC bantamweight title eliminator. The bout comes four months after the 31-year-old scored a sensational third-round knockout of former title challenger Aston Palicte in support of Haney-Kambosos I.
Sydney’s Kambosos (20-1, 10KOs) didn’t come close during their June meeting for the undisputed lightweight championship. Haney won by scores of 116-112, 116-112 and 118-110, the latter more in line with how most observers viewed their ESPN main event. Haney defended his WBC lightweight title for the fifth time while claiming Kambosos’ unified lineal/WBA ‘Super/IBF/WBO championship, dominating to the point where a rematch was deemed largely unnecessary.
It was, however, contractually obligated. The odds were much closer heading into the first fight but Haney enters the rematch as a healthy -800 betting favorite according to Caesars Sportsbook. Simply put, there is even less confidence in Kambosos bringing the lightweight crown back to Australia this weekend than there was in his retaining the championship four months ago.
Still, there remains hope among his most loyal fans and friends.
“I think George will have to bring a lot more pressure and really take the fight to Haney,” Moloney noted. “But with George’s style and great fitness I do think that he is capable of pulling off the upset.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox