AN INTENSITY radiates from George Kambosos Jnr. It never seems to wane. Day or night, he can be found toiling away in his own purpose-built gym in Sydney, Australia, the light ricocheting off freshly painted jet black brickwork. These walls act as a constant reminder to Kambosos of the journey heโs taken to becoming the worldโs number one lightweight, back to when he was training before sunrise for paltry purses and lifeless fanfare. Back before heโd stood under the lights of Madison Square Garden and heard his name read out to gasps of astonishment and disbelief.
โI still have that contender mentality,โ he tells Boxing News. โIโve still got it. Yes, Iโve got the status of being a world champion. But my mindset doesnโt feel any different. I still have that contender mentality of โIโm only fighting for minimal money and Iโm still chasing my way to the top.โ Thatโs how I still feel. I donโt feel no different. The victory against Lopez? Yeah, itโs there. Itโs etched in history. My name has got โworld championโ next to it. But I donโt change. I still stay focused. And I know what got me here, with the hard work in the trenches after dark. And thatโs why I painted my whole gym black.โ
Kambosos is a fighter acutely aware of the importance of his own mental preparation. Some might think this relates to โmind gamesโ with an opponent, and though the manner in which he unsettled Teofimo Lopez could be described in such terms itโs the groundwork he puts in within himself that feels most crucial. The Australian is a passionate exponent of the power of visualisation, conditioning his brain so that victory is crystalised in his subconscious long before heโs stepped through the ropes.
โEvery fight I visualise. I manifest and visualise this moment. Straight after I beat Teofimo Lopez I sat down with my team and said, โOkay, whoโs next? Who do we fight? The biggest and best name.โ Obviously, you become champion and a lot of guys want to milk the system and say, โWell, letโs take an easy fight. Letโs do a voluntary defence.โ Me? Iโm cut from a different cloth. I straightaway said, โOkay, thereโs only two names I really want. Itโs Devin Haney because heโs got that piece that he never earned in the ring or Vasiliy Lomachenko because he deserves a shot. Heโs obviously had a lot of these belts and he lost against Lopez but he deserves a shot. So I manifested and visualised this moment. This big fight in a stadium, again my hand raised, me shocking the world again. Because, again, Iโm not a massive underdog like I was for the Lopez fight but Iโm still an underdog. And thatโs amazing. Thatโs how I love it. Iโm the top dog in that division but I am the underdog which is the best feeling. I manifest and visualise once again every aspect of this fight. Doing everything right again and getting a great victory. Shocking the world again and really dismantling half of these supposed โfour kingsโ that they did talk about.โ
The next of these โfour kingsโ is, of course, Devin Haney. Ranked at No. 4 in the world, he arrived in Australia without his training team of Ben Davison and father, Bill Haney, both of whom were unable to enter the country due to differing visa issues. Kambosos Jnr has poured scorn on the praise Haneyโs received from the American press for travelling out to fight him on his own, conscious of the years he himself has spent away from his family making his name. He and his team have examined Haney closely and the Australian feels very confident that heโs found more than enough in his studies to beat his challenger convincingly.
โItโs funny that people are applauding him and parading him like this is such a big victory for him just to be here. Iโve been doing it for five years constantly,โ scoffs Kambosos.
โDevinโs a good boxer but when you really break it down, when you really have a look at him in depth, there are so many holes. Heโs very basic. He does things over and over again, the same things over and over again. Now heโs got away with it against a guy in [Jorge] Linares who was a lot older, who just didnโt have that that kill, that lion in him to finish him off. And he got away with it against Jo Jo Diaz. Even though both these guys hit him with big shots. Now, Jo Jo Diaz comes up to just under my shoulder and heโs a small featherweight naturally. Now, if this guy and Linares are hurting him whatโs a puncher, a guy thatโs so explosive and fast and got very good power and moves so well, going to do to him?โ
Kambosos now goes into this fight carrying a whole new dynamic psychologically. Having spent the vast majority of his career as the man chasing the best in the division heโs conscious of the fact that heโs quickly become the one with the target on his back, every contender and blue chip prospect angling for a shot at his crown. It adds an extra layer to the pressure he faces, one heโs embracing and using as fuel for the fire he stokes in training.
โI have that hunter mentality that Iโve always had. That drives me but I also have the hunted mentality where you got to be sharp and you know that theyโre on your tail trying to get what you got. So that drives you even more. That pushes you that extra, not one or two rounds, it pushes you another five to 10 rounds in training. Makes you run the extra three to four miles on top of what youโre doing. So thatโs what Iโve really done. Itโs preparation.โ
Drafting in quality sparring from the US has been an important part of this planning, with top Puerto Rican prospect, Xander Zayas, and 22-0 contender, Albert Bell, flying over to help Kambosos with his game plan. Training with his wife and children close by in Sydney has meant heโs been able to avoid those moments of solitude from previous camps, and seeing them wander in and out of the gym has clearly been inspirational. Regardless of this, however, Kambosos knows exactly what drives him towards the objective in his mind. Quite simply, itโs the battle itself.
โI see my kids and my family and know that Iโm doing everything I can to give them the best life. As a father, knowing that theyโre financially well off is a really good feeling. But, for me, I love to fight. This is the passion of fighting. This is really not about belts. Itโs not about money. This is about legacy and this is about the passion for it. And if me and Devin Haney were to fight for free or if he was about to walk into my gym right now, just me and him, I tell you, weโd fight. Because thatโs the kind of love I have for the sport and for fighting itself,โ says Kambosos.
โMy full focus is on Devin Haney and Iโm chasing the biggest and best. Thatโs what Iโm about. Iโm not here to protect the record. Iโve been there from day one. I donโt care about this record. I donโt care about protecting the zero. Iโm here for the best fights and if I believe in myself and I know what I bring to the table then that zero should always be there because I know how well I prepare and I know how well I fight inside them ropes.โ
And so to June 4 and his huge homecoming at the Marvel Arena in Melbourne, an event the champion has declared to be the โbiggest fight in Australian history.โ Talk inevitably turns to how the fight will pan out, yet such is his commitment to the path heโs plotted in his mind that Kambososโ prediction feels less like a prophecy and more like a clairvoyant reading his own cards. Certainty accompanies the fire, as undimmed as the shadows that dance across those black walls.
โI will hit this guy, and I will hit him hard and he will be hurt. Iโm prepared for every round. Round by round, victory by any means. Like Iโve said again, โold schoolโ. Fifteen rounds? No problem. Thatโs how well prepared I am. Everything I bring to the table will beat Devin Haney and weโll move on to continue growing my legacy more and more after each fight. Whatever he tries to bring to the table, he will try his best, it wonโt be enough, and everything that I bring to the table will be will be more than enough to dismantle him.โ