After the fight: Haney vs. Kambosos “boring,” but Devin Haney is champ

Many, including George Kambosos Jr., have called the June 4 boxing bout between Kambosos and Devin Haney boring, but Haney is still the champion. 

In the aftermath of the June 4 lightweight boxing bout between Devin Haney and George Kambosos Jr., fans, pundits, and even one of the fight’s participants labeled the contest as “boring.”

“It wasn’t like I got beat up,” Kambosos said to the Sydney Morning Herald (h/t Boxingscene.com). “I’m not hurt at all. I feel like I’ve had half a fight — it was boring.”

That’s an interesting perspective coming from the newly dethroned champion.

Kambosos gave several quotes after the fight playing the role of the bigger man, trying not to take the shine away from the new undisputed lightweight champion, Haney. However, his comments to the Sydney Morning Herald and his other sentiments send mixed messages. You may even call them passive-aggressive.

“I’m going to give him full respect after his victory today,” Kambosos said after the bout. “Let him have his time, and we’ll do it again.”

Calling Haney’s victory “boring” isn’t the most respectful way to pay homage to Haney. Yet, Kambosos isn’t the only one to throw that term around.

Many on social media used the same word to describe Haney vs. Kambosos. There were sleepy face emojis mixed with frustration that more exchanges didn’t occur. Undefeated lightweight contender Ryan Garcia followed suit.

“Boring!” Garcia tweeted.

According to CompuBox stats, Devin Haney threw and landed more punches than George Kambosos Jr. to wrestle away control of the lightweight division and become the undisputed champion

Neither Haney nor Kambosos was damaged in the bout, and there weren’t many confrontations between them, but the word “boring” takes away from Haney’s achievement and boxing artistry.

When Kambosos challenged then-champion Teofimo Lopez in November 2021, Kambosos and Lopez collided head-on with nothing but destruction on their mind. Lopen hit the canvas in round 1, and Kambosos was leveled by a Lopez right hand in round 10.

Kambosos put his chin on the line for a chance at glory, and it paid off. His face was bruised, and his right eye was pretty puffy, but he looked better than Lopez, whose left eye was buried in swollen purple tissue and split open on the outside brow.

There were no gruesome battle scars after Haney vs. Kambosos, but that’s a testament to Haney’s ability to neutralize Kambosos’ offense while collecting points with jabs and counterpunches.

Kambosos wanted a brawl, but Haney used his boxing I.Q. to force a boxing match, which played into his skillset. He never turned his back and ran. Haney stayed squared and pivoted back and around the ring while keeping Kambosos away with his left hand.

That’s a skill, not cowardice. Don’t confuse the two.

In 2015, many called Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao a boring fight for the same reasons we’re seeing with Haney vs. Kambosos. Mayweather’s movement and counterpunching allowed him to defeat a fellow legend without having a scratch on his face.

How many boxers that have fought Pacquiao can say the same thing?

The CompuBox stats of these two contests are very similar. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao combined for 864 punches thrown to 1,005 for Haney vs. Kambosos. Mayweather landed 148 punches, and Haney connected with 147.

That’s the work of two skilled boxers who struck a balance between offense and defense in a calculated fashion to walk away as victors while not taking career-altering damage. Most would call that smart, but go ahead and say they’re boring.

The casual boxing fan looks for violence in the ring, and they sometimes get it. However, boxers don’t get bonus points for getting pummeled. They get brain damage.

Mayweather finished his career undefeated and with a boatload of money because he fought smart. Even with his “boring” style, he managed to set pay-per-view records and was the most famous fighter of his era.

Haney follows ‘Money’s’ blueprint and is undisputed at 23 years old. Not even Mayweather accomplished that feat.

At 28-0, with 15 KOs, Haney’s early career is one of the best on paper that you will ever see. Unfortunately, he’s labeled “boring” because he out-thought and out-fought his opponent. It’s also non-sensical.

Go deeper into the CompuBox numbers, and you’ll see that Haney threw 171 more punches than Kambosos and landed 47 more, but Kambosos has the gall to call Haney boring. The word I would use is “better.”

After the fight, Haney stated that the matchup went according to plan.

“I was comfortable,” Haney said. “I was just sticking to the game plan. The game plan was to go there and hit and not get hit, and I did that for the majority of the fight. I took the last round off just because I knew I was comfortably ahead, but I fought a good, smart fight.”

Haney enacted the vision that he imagined in his head. It takes a world-class boxer to do that against a fighter of ‘Ferocious’ Kambosos’ caliber.

Sorry if you wanted to see carnage between Haney and Kambosos. Instead, you were left with precise smoothness and textbook strategizing. But go ahead and be obtuse and glib by calling Haney “boring” one more time. It’s not like it’s getting old or anything.