Hall of Fame promoter Lou DiBella spoke to Peter Maniatis of the KO show about the George Kambosos vs. Devin Haney rematch on Sunday (Saturday in the US) at the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, televised on ESPN.
“My second trip (to Melbourne) in four months, said DiBella. “I love this town. What a great city and what a great place to do boxing.
“Let’s be honest. The last (Kambosos-Haney) fight disappointed. Forget about the fact Australia didn’t get to keep the belts and George lost the fight. That happens. It wasn’t a particularly good fight. It wasn’t a pleasing fight. I think George was distracted. I think a lot of it was on George. I don’t think his eye was on the prize.
“I don’t think he was as focused as normally he is. It’s very difficult to return home a big hero and you have all the belts and everyone wants a piece of you. It gets to your head a little bit. George is a guy who has been very focused his whole career. A real spartan warrior mentality. I really believe he’s had that mentality for most of his career.
“The last fight he lost sight of that himself and he didn’t give his best effort the night of the fight. I don’t think George adjusted that night of the fight. I don’t think he sold out or went balls to the wall trying to win. I don’t think he gave everything. It wasn’t a good night. Fighters have an off night. The problem is when a rugby or footballer or baseball player has an off night they have other games and that one performance doesn’t matter very much. In boxing, with one bad night you go from undisputed champion to contender. And that’s what happened to George Kambosos. That’s very humbling.
“I know he is much better prepared for this fight. He is going to do everything in his power to win. If he doesn’t win, I believe he is going to go out on his shield. Whoever is at the Rod Laver Arena is going to see a great fight.”
