Devin “The Dream” Haney pitched a near shutout against George Kambosos Jr. on Sunday afternoon in Australia. The judges scored it 118-110 and 116-112 (twice) for the undefeated 23-year-old American, who is now the undisputed lightweight championship of the world.

The fight headlined a Top Rank on ESPN card that was broadcast live from Melbourne.

“This is a dream come true,” said Haney (28-0, 15 knockouts) after the fight. “I was going through it without my dad being here because I knew it was a big moment for us. We both dreamed of this.”

“I was comfortable. The game plan was to go there and hit and not get hit, and I did that for the majority of the fight.

“I want to thank George Kambosos and all of Australia for coming out. Thank you, George, for giving me the shot. All of these so-called champions would not give me my shot. But George was a true champion, and he gave me my shot.”

Kambosos gave Haney full credit in defeat, and hinted at a rematch. “He boxed his game,” said the proud Greek-Aussie. “He moved. He boxed. He didn’t really want to come into the fight too much, but that’s his game, so I give him respect. I’m going to change a few things and get him back at the end of this year. All respect to him.”

Haney keeps Kambosos at the end of his jab. Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images

After a few competitive rounds to open up the bout, Haney took over. It didn’t take long for him to figure out his opponent’s timing and rhythm. The American made Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs) miss throughout the entire fight, countering with potshots and tying the Australian up whenever he got close.

Haney’s jab, reach and slickness were simply too much for Kambosos. It wasn’t exactly “must-see TV,” but it was highly effective. So effective, in fact, that it kept the crowd of 41,129 inside Marvel Stadium hushed for much of the fight.

CompuBox credited Haney with landing 147 of 588 total punches (25%) in the bout, landing nearly an equal number of jabs (78) and power punches (69). Kambosos landed 100 of 417 total punches (24%). Haney threw more and landed more in every punching category other than body shots, where Kambosos had a 34 to 16 edge.

There is a rematch clause, so we could possibly see these two back in the ring, back in Australia, later this year. However, based on what transpired on June 5 (broadcast on June 4 in America on ESPN and ESPN+), it’s hard to imagine the results will be any different. Nonetheless, Kambosos seems to have made up his mind already.

“We’ll do it again,” he said after the fight. “Look, I gave him the shot. If I hadn’t given him this shot, he wouldn’t have had his moment right now. So, we’ll do it again.”

Notable Undercard Results:

Former bantamweight world title challenger Jason Moloney improved to 24-2 (19 KO’s) with a TKO3 win over Aston Palicte of the Philippines. Moloney has now won three in a row since dropped a KO7 loss to Naoya Inoue in 2020.

Heavyweight Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne scored a shocking upset victory over Junior Fa, in a battle of Australia versus New Zealand. Browne dropped Fa twice in the first round, earning the KO1 win to improve to 31-3 (27 KOs). Fa has now lost two in a row after winning his first 19 pro bouts.

New Zealand heavyweight prospect Hemi Ahio improved to 19-0 (14 KOs) with a first-round stoppage win over Christian Ndzie Tsoye.

Michael Montero can be found on social media via @MonteroOnBoxing. His podcast “The Neutral Corner” can be seen every Monday on TheRingDigital YouTube channel, and heard on audio podcast platforms around the world.

👑 CROWN’ EM 👑@RealDevinHaney is your new Undisputed Champ! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/UofzSLT3Z8

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) June 5, 2022