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Mike CoppingerESPN
LAS VEGAS — Devin Haney pressed forward and threw shots with bad intentions, pinning his sparring partner along the ropes.
Weeks before Haney traveled to Australia for his second consecutive fight against George Kambosos Jr., he was putting the finishing touches on his American training camp, his first as undisputed lightweight champion. Haney outboxed Kambosos with ease back in June, but ahead of the rematch, he seemed to be placing his punches in an effort to make a statement and prove that his power is better than advertised.
Haney (28-0,15 KOs), ESPN’s top boxer under the age of 25, captured the championship in dominant fashion with a unanimous decision over Kambosos. The 23-year-old boxed brilliantly. He stood in front of Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs) and carved up the champion with his precise, table-setting jab and an impressive variety of punches from different angles.
The lopsided nature of the matchup didn’t warrant a rematch — let alone an immediate one — but Haney is back in Melbourne, Australia, for a return bout on Saturday (ESPN/ESPN+, 10:30 p.m. ET). The reason: Kambosos’ side negotiated a rematch clause ahead of the first meeting — which Kambosos exercised after the loss — a routine deal point for champions making voluntary defenses.
These clauses guarantee the champion protection in the event he loses, and they’ve long been a staple in boxing. Oftentimes, a rematch is anticipated by fans, but in this case — and many others — it seems to be unnecessary.
The challenge for Haney: Guarding against a letdown and maintaining momentum ahead of a potential marquee matchup with Vasiliy Lomachenko next year. That’s a key reason Haney, who is known for defense but not power, was sitting down on his shots in sparring.
“A lot of people aren’t excited about it, but at the end of the day, it’s history. It’s another step towards being one of the greats in the sport,” Haney told ESPN after his sparring session at the Top Rank Gym. “He definitely gave me the shot when he didn’t really have to.
“Obviously, [there were] benefits in it for him and I took some things that some other fighters wouldn’t have took, but he still could have fought someone else and he picked me. I took my hat off to him for that. I knew that I was gonna have to do it twice. Obviously, I believed in myself. I knew that I was gonna win. So, here we are. We’re doing it again. I honor everything that I said I would do.”
ANTHONY JOSHUA AND Deontay Wilder are no strangers to the power of the rematch clause. The Englishman twice used that contractual protection in recent years to guarantee himself a shot at redemption (and his three heavyweight titles).
First, AJ regained his unified championship with a decision victory over Andy Ruiz Jr. in December 2019, six months after the colossal upset loss. This past August, Joshua dropped a second consecutive decision to Oleksandr Usyk.
And last year, an independent arbitrator ruled that Tyson Fury owed Wilder a third fight after “The Gypsy King” claimed the rematch clause had expired.
On all three occasions, the trusty rematch clause led to return bouts for matchups that weren’t all that competitive the first time around, except for Joshua-Ruiz 1, when Joshua dropped Ruiz in Round 3.
Now, Kambosos will look to capitalize — as Joshua did vs. Ruiz in Saudi Arabia — and turn the tables on Haney. The 29-year-old will not only vie for all four 135-pound titles a second time, he’ll do so from the comfort of home again, while Haney must make the long trek from Las Vegas.
“[Kambosos] wouldn’t make 25 percent of what he’s getting” without the rematch clause, Kambosos’ promoter, Lou DiBella, told ESPN. “And he certainly wouldn’t have got the rematch.”
Kambosos is guaranteed to earn $2 million, sources told ESPN.
Negotiations are notoriously tricky in boxing, with each event treated as a one-off. Talks can drag for months as each side attempts to gain the upper hand, haggling over everything from the number of plane tickets for their team, hotel rooms and even meal per diem.
The most important negotiating point of all, naturally, is the guaranteed purse, but the second major point, when applicable, is the rematch clause terms.
When Lomachenko lost his three lightweight titles to Teofimo Lopez Jr. in a battle for the undisputed championship in October 2020, he surprisingly did so without the protection of a rematch clause. Lomachenko, who fought with a torn rotator cuff in the upset defeat, pushed for the rematch afterward, but Lopez refused.
“When you don’t get a rematch clause, the fighter and everyone else involved second-guesses you,” DiBella said. “When Loma didn’t get the rematch clause, people went nuts.”
Rather than a rematch with Lomachenko, Lopez fulfilled his IBF mandatory obligation and faced Kambosos, the No. 1 contender, last November. Mandated title fights rarely contain rematch clauses since there’s no leverage on the part of the champion. Kambosos pulled off ESPN’s upset of the year, and Lopez, like Lomachenko before him, had no path to a return bout.
It’s not just the fighter who receives reassurance from the rematch clause. The boxer’s promoter and network also guard against devaluing their investment.
“If you want a big, big fight, sometimes the path to a big fight is the rematch clause,” said DiBella, who formerly oversaw boxing programming at HBO Sports. “So you really can’t have it both ways. When you have a strong A-side or an undisputed champion or a nonmandated fight of significance, it’s an incentive to the champion who’s not forced to make the big fight.
“It’s also economic protection for the people doing business with that champion. In no other sport can an athlete lose such a percentage of their value in one night. Where would Kambosos be if he didn’t have a rematch clause?”
BOTH HANEY AND Kambosos will be fighting in a rematch for the first time as pros, an opportunity to test their ability to adjust after 12 rounds against one another.
Haney is known for his intelligent game plans, defense and excellent footwork, a style that presented a tricky puzzle for Kambosos. The Australian is a flat-footed fighter who excels when he’s able to mix it up on the inside.
That’s exactly what he did in his triumph over Lopez. He consistently beat Lopez to the punch and set the tempo with a first-round knockdown. Against Haney, Kambosos was never truly in the fight. He sat at the end of Haney’s long jab and ate punches all night. He never was able to close distance and failed to thrive in front of his hometown fans.
“He did not sell out in the first fight. He did not take risks or chances,” DiBella said of Kambosos. “He did not get in through Haney’s defense and it was a pretty s—ty fight, not only because George didn’t execute but because he never went balls to the wall. I know him well enough to know he ain’t gonna lose the same way if he loses.
“I think he’s going to try to take Haney out of his comfort zone and mount an offense by any means that he can. I expect him to go out on his shield, if he goes out. I think he convinced himself that it would be an easy fight. He underestimated Haney’s high ring IQ and his speed and how good he was. He thought because Haney wasn’t a puncher, it would be an extremely winnable fight.
“I think he’s going to fight a very different kind of fight. I think he’s going to take more chances. I think it will be a much, much better fight.”
Surely, Kambosos can’t perform much worse, even if Haney does score the stoppage. Undersized and facing a steep skill disparity, Kambosos’ only path to victory, seemingly, is nonstop pressure in a physical fight.
“Rematch clauses are just a part of boxing, you can’t be mad at it. In basketball, they play seven games to prove that you’re the better team. I gotta embrace it ’cause I could easily be on the other side: demand a rematch clause as a champion.”
Devin Haney
If he wants to avoid the embarrassment of a second consecutive rout in Australia, he’ll need to take more chances, as DiBella said, but that should open up even more counterpunching opportunities for Haney.
“I’m excited to see how much better I’ve gotten since the last fight and how I can beat him a different kind of way,” Haney said. “I’ve shared a ring with him for 12 rounds, I know his weaknesses. I know what he’s good at…. I think I will be even better in this rematch…. Whenever I spar a guy once, the next time I’m always better.”
Former world champion Timothy Bradley Jr. knows all about rematches. He faced the legendary Manny Pacquiao three times.
The first fight was won by Bradley in controversial fashion. Pacquiao left no doubt in the rematch and did even better in the third fight. Bradley said he prepared for Pacquiao to be more aggressive in the third fight and was surprised when Pacquiao instead sat back and countered. The result: Pacquiao scored two knockdowns after neither fighter tasted the canvas through 24 rounds.
“It’s a lot harder on a fighter mentally, the second time around,” said Bradley, an ESPN boxing analyst. “This isn’t Round 1; this is Round 13. This isn’t a clean slate. That’s not how it works. … Us fighters, we talk to ourselves, we know what we’re capable of doing. We know our DNA and how we operate. You know exactly how smart [the opponents] are, how fast they are, how much punching power and you know if you can do something or not.”
Haney knows what he can do against Kambosos and must “have the same mentality and dominate him even more,” according to Bradley. “Especially fighting overseas,” he said, “you can’t keep these fights close.”
Kambosos, meanwhile, is facing long odds for the second time in three fights. He defied conventional wisdom once already when he beat Lopez as a 6-1 underdog, but the task is far harder this time around after he won maybe two or three rounds vs. Haney (Kambosos is +550 to regain his titles, per Caesars Sportsbook).
“Kambosos is not gonna win this fight,” Bradley said. “There’s nothing that he can do to change anything. He doesn’t understand how to close the distance, that’s the big issue for him. He doesn’t know how to deal with the jab. He doesn’t know how to cut off the ring.
“Haney’s footwork and hand-eye coordination is just too damn good for him. … Haney is going to pick up where he left off. If Kambosos wants to have success, he needs to step on the gas and step on the gas quick.”
ANOTHER DEFEAT FOR Kambosos in such lopsided fashion would surely erase much of the standing he built with the win over Lopez and leave him on the outside looking in at 135 pounds.
But if he loses in an entertaining, close fight, he can set himself up for some all-action scraps against contenders like Diaz, William Zepeda or Isaac Cruz. A victory would throw him in the driver’s seat for more mega paydays against stars like Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia or Lomachenko.
But this rematch is about Haney, one of the brightest stars in all of boxing. A win will send him on a collision course with Lomachenko, a bout Haney has pursued for a long time.
Haney has one more fight with Top Rank and DiBella Entertainment after the rematch, and Lomachenko is also promoted by Bob Arum. Negotiations for fights of that magnitude are never easy, but there’s a clear path for a deal with both Haney and Lomachenko aligned with the same promoter and network (ESPN).
Haney isn’t long for the 135-pound division, so if a fight with Lomachenko isn’t finalized for the first half of 2023, it might never happen. Haney is 5-feet-9 and must endure a tough weight cut at lightweight. He could have avoided the Kambosos rematch clause by vacating the belts and moving up to 140 pounds, but it was important to him to at least make one defense of his four titles. More vital, of course, is a star-making opportunity against Lomachenko.
“I think it is the biggest fight, it’s the best of the lightweight division,” Haney said. “The best fighting the best. But it all starts with Oct. 15.”
Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and ESPN’s former No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer, fights for the first time this year on Oct. 29 against Jamaine Ortiz. That date puts him on virtually the same schedule as Haney.
It was actually Lomachenko who was in position to fight Kambosos. He agreed to terms for the fight before he decided to remain in war-torn Ukraine with his family. And when talks eventually begin, Haney will surely be looking for a little extra protection against his most formidable foe yet.
“Rematch clauses are just a part of boxing, you can’t be mad at it,” Haney said. “In basketball, they play seven games to prove that you’re the better team. I gotta embrace it ’cause I could easily be on the other side: demand a rematch clause as a champion.”