WBC lightweight titleholder Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney 27-0 (15) made a case for a shot at WBA, WBO, IBF, WBC Franchise and Ring Magazine champion George ‘Ferocious’ Kambosos 20-0 (10) with a clear-cut unanimous decision victory over Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz 32-2-1 (15) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old from Las Vegas outboxed southpaw Diaz early, but the 29-year-old Californian roared back in the fourth.
Haney regained control in the fifth and sixth rounds, attacking the body consistently and landing regularly to the head. But in the seventh a left cross from Diaz landed flush as he willed himself back into the fight.
Haney bounced back in the eighth but Diaz had another good round in the ninth. Haney’s handspeed and footwork proved the difference in the fight, but Diaz finished the fight strongly in the 12th.
The judges had Haney winning a unanimous decision with scores or 117-111 twice and 116-112.
“I knew I was facing a tough competitor. JoJo Diaz makes it hard for anybody he’s been in the ring with. He only had one loss,” Haney said after the fight. “He has a lot of experience but I went in there and got the job done.
“The game plan was to keep him at bay with my jab, my probes, work my combinations off of it. That’s what I did.
“From the very beginning [I knew he wasn’t going to back down], I knew I hit him with some good shots. He was picking up as the fight went on. He’s a true champion, a two-time world champion, so he went in there and gave me a good fight.”
Diaz took the loss well and vowed to be back.
“I thought it was a good fight,” he said. “I’m living my dream. I want to thank everybody for coming out and watching me do what I love to do. Dreams come true as long as you guys put your mind to it.
“I thought it was a closer fight than what it was. I thought I was dictating the pace and I landed some good body shots but it is what it is. I’m just going to go back to the drawing board and get stronger. This is what I do. I want to challenge the best.”
Australian Kambosos, 28, was ringside for the fight one week after his stunning upset of Teofimo Lopez 16-1 (12) at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden.
Plans are now afoot for Kambosos to face Haney in his homeland next year.
“We have to go in there and settle it,” Haney told Kambosos Jr on DAZN.
Kambosos Jr replied: “If we make it happen, it will be an exciting fight. Now, we can talk.”
“Let’s do it for all the belts,” Haney said. “The real undisputed. Let’s do it next. I’d go to Jupiter if I got to. I think it’s a great fight. There would be no more dispute. That’s the biggest fight right now for the 135-pound division.”
