Devin Haney celebrated ‘a dream come true’ after beating George Kambosos to become the undisputed lightweight champion, but both fighters are preparing for a rematch.
The American WBC champion will return home with the IBF, WBA and WBO straps after beating the Australian on a unanimous decision in Kambosos’ country.
Speaking after becoming the four-belt champion, Haney said: “This is a dream come true.
“I was going through it without my dad being here. This was a big moment for both of us. We both dreamed of it. When we started out, we said we wanted to be the best. It would have hurt me to accomplish this without him.
“I’m so thankful. Alhamdulillah, Dad, I’m so thankful."
“I was sticking to the gameplan, hitting and not getting hit,” noted Haney of accomplishing the achievement. “I took the last round off because I knew I was comfortably ahead. I fought a good, smart fight.”
Of a rematch, Haney stated: “Inshallah. If Allah wants it to happen, I will be back.”
Kambosos cut a confident figure before the match-up, but accepted that the win had been earned by his opponent.
“It was definitely not a factor,” Kambosos said of his initial failure to make weight. “[Haney] just boxed and stepped up his game. He moved, he boxed. He didn’t want to mix it up, but that’s his game.”
“It was an amazing event for this country. I want to take the best tests and the hardest tests. I’m going to give him full respect after his victory. I’ll let him have his time and we’ll do it again.
“I’m going to take a few things from this and look forward to doing it again at the end of this year.”