Devin Haney Vs. George Kambosos II: Odds, Records, Prediction

Devin Haney thinks he should be included on boxing’s pound for pound list. He’s actually pretty adamant about that. But so far, he hasn’t convinced most boxing observers (including me!), and it’s unclear if another victory against George Kambosos on Saturday will change the equation. Still, maybe there’s a chance. Here’s everything you need to know about Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos II, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.

In June, Haney dominated Kambosos in a unanimous decision and became the undisputed lightweight champion in Kambosos’ home country of Australia. Despite the shellacking, Kambosos, who entered that fight with three of the 135-pound belts, insisted on a rematch clause in the original contract. So, even though Haney easily won four months ago and is a big betting favorite, the rematch is going to happen again in Australia.

But many observers don’t think much, if anything, will change the second time they meet. Haney certainly doesn’t.

“I know George is going to come to fight. He’s going to give his all, even more than he did the first time,” Haney said. “It’ll make for me to be able to showcase my skills even more, and it’ll be better this time around.”

As far as pound for pound status, Haney tweeted this while referring to the Ring magazine rankings in June, “Lol loma not even active right now.. & someone is undisputed in the same weight class that he fights in how could he still be on the pound 4 pound list???”

In August, after a back-and-forth with Dougie Fischer, the magazine’s editor in chief, on social media, Haney tweeted, “The youngest undisputed champ of the 4 belt era… & not on the pound 4 pound list is crazy especially when guys who don’t even hold the ring magazine belt currently made the list gtfoh…”

For what it’s worth, Haney, as of this week, still hadn’t cracked that publication’s top-10 list. As for me, I rank him somewhere between Nos. 11-15 on my list.

If Kambosos has his way, though, this discussion won’t matter after Saturday night. That’s because he’s looking to redeem himself after his first professional loss and is looking to find the formula that allowed him to beat Teofimo Lopez when Lopez was considered a pound for pound fighter.

“I’m 29; this is do or die for me now,” Kambosos said. “You will not see me—if I don’t overcome this fight—back in Australia fighting, you know, domestic guys. That’s not me. Everything I have, I’ll be putting into that ring and into my training.”

Here’s more info on the Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos showdown that U.S. viewers can watch on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos odds

The first time these two met, Haney was only a slight -154 favorite. Now, Haney is a big -1000 favorite (bet $1,000 to win $100), while Kambosos is the +600 underdog (win $600 on a $100 wager). Earlier this week, Haney was -834, so the money apparently continues to come in on him. The best value is for Haney to win by decision at -200, and if you think Kambosos can pull off the upset, I’d take him to win by stoppage at +1400 rather than the +1200 you’d get for a decision victory. Perhaps even taking the +400 of Kambosos knocking down Haney at least once would be an interesting play.

If you were looking for a fun parlay for this weekend’s action of boxing (and this is only for entertainment purposes), I might take Haney to beat George Kambosos by decision at -200, Claressa Shields to beat Savannah Marshall by decision at +120, and Deontay Wilder to knock out Robert Helenius at -450. Hitting that parlay would pay off at about 3/1.

Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos records

On talent alone, Haney, at 28-0 with 15 KOs, should probably be considered one of the 10 best fighters in the world. But at this point, his resume is a little too thin. Yes, the Kambosos win was impressive and he looked good vs. solid contender Joseph Diaz, but he was in real danger against Jorge Linares in 2021 before pulling out the victory. Besides, Haney is not normally in heart-pounding and/or inspiring fights, and that probably hurts him among voters.

Seven months before he lost to Haney, Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs) scored one of the biggest upsets of 2021, knocking down Teofimo Lopez in the first round and then holding him off at the end to win the unified lightweight titles. Clearly, it was the best night of Kambosos’ career. Other than that, he looked decent but somewhat average in victories against Mickey Bey and Lee Selby.

Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos prediction

Kambosos is better than he showed in his first matchup vs. Haney. But Haney is just too slick and technical for Kambosos. If Kambosos had concussive power, especially since Haney has been wobbled before, I might give him a better shot at pulling off the upset. But he’ll have a difficult time even landing something flush. Haney will win by decision, somewhere in the 117-111 range.