WBA, WBO, IBF and WBC Franchise lightweight champion George ‘Ferocious’ Kambosos Jr 20-0 (10) is hoping to see Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao at ringside when he takes on WBC titlist Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney 27-0 (15) at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on June 5.
Kambosos and Pacquiao have history. The 28-year-old Australian was a sparring partner for Pacquiao ahead of his fight against his countryman Jeff Horn in 2017.
Brisbane schoolteacher Horn would go on to defeat Pacquiao by unanimous decision. Kambosos was panned at the time for working with Pacquiao in what some fans and pundits saw as an act of treachery against his fellow Australian.
Southpaw Pacquiao, 40, retired after his loss to Yordenis Ugas last August with a record of 62-8-2 (39) to focus on his political career. Kambosos shocked many when he outpointed Teofimo Lopez 16-1 (12) last November to become the lightweight champion of the world.
“I am hearing rumors that Manny will be flying down ringside to watch me handle business and collect that last piece of the puzzle with all my belts,” Kambosos told Sunday Night with Matty Johns.
“To have him in my corner, to have him supporting me — an all-time great like Manny Pacquiao feeling. I’m very humbled to have him apart of my journey.
“Manny is a legend, I was a part of that team. I’m sparring with him as his main sparring partner, but ultimately I had to put in the work.
“When you’re in there with a legend, an all-time great, a guy who has done so much more than anyone when it comes to titles and divisions than any other fighter in the world in boxing history, and you’re mixing it with him day in day out, you know that you are elite.
“He’s so happy with what I’ve achieved. He put out a great message after my victory over Lopez. He was waiting to see if he would become president of the Philippines. Unfortunately that’s not the case. So hopefully that opens up the door now for him to come back to Australia and be there ringside to watch me do the business against Devin Haney.”
Pacquiao gave Kambosos a ringing endorsement.
“I look at the training videos he has been posting on his various social platforms and I’m amazed at what he’s doing in the gym,” Pacquiao said to Good Weekend. “No-one is in better condition. You can tell he wants to keep those belts for as long as possible.
“It’s been a long journey for George, and he has sacrificed a lot to get to the top — I do not see him letting that go. How many world titles can he win? He’s only limited by his imagination and his ambition. So far, George has accomplished everything he has set his mind to.
“From the beginning I knew, and my team knew, George was a very good fighter. That is why I wanted George in all my training camps. It went beyond giving me good work. He made me work.
“He was a sparring partner in name only. You could sense he had big ambitions in boxing. He wanted to be the best and he treated his sparring sessions with me as part of his education. I never saw the same fighter twice. He was more than a sparring partner. He was a training partner.”
Kambosos, who has fought around the globe for the past four years, impressed Pacquiao with his work ethic.
“George worked harder than anyone in the camp,” Pacquiao said. “I think that is why we got along so well. He would be right there with me running the hills every morning, doing sit-ups next to me after the run, full workouts in the gym every afternoon. He was always doing the extra work. He never cut corners on himself and it was that work ethic that showed me he had the drive to do what so few in boxing can, and that is to become a world champion.”
Kambosos dropped Lopez in the first round and controlled much of the action before finding himself on the canvas in the 10th. But not only did he rise from the knockdown, he stood his ground and gave as good as he got, finishing strong in the championship rounds.
“The fight he took to Teofimo Lopez… I do not think anyone else could have done what George did that night,” Pacquiao said.
“He showed in the Lopez fight that not only can he give out punishment, but he can also take it, and that comes from working hard every day in training and staying fit in between fights.
“George has so many strengths, physically and mentally. He is not predictable. He sees the whole ring and uses it to his advantage. He keeps everything together. He is very disciplined.”
