Devin Haney routs George Kambosos to settle undisputed debate, wins all four belts

There's no more debate. Devin Haney is the undisputed lightweight champion of the world.

The 23-year-old dominated George Kambosos Jr. to collect all four 135-pound belts in a unanimous decision before 41,129 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on ESPN.

Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) used his superb jab to keep Kambosos at bay en route to the one-sided victory via scores of 116-112, 118-110, and 116-112. FightNights.com scored the fight 118-110.

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

"I handicapped him of his best things. He wanted to land the overhand right, and he wanted to land the big left hook. ... I was fighting both ways. When I would go to the left, I would fight his right hand. When I would go to the right, I would fight his left hook. And he couldn't hit me with neither one of them."

According to Compubox, Haney landed 147 of 588 punches (23 percent) and Kambosos connected with 100 of 417 blows (24 percent).

It was an impressive performance from the opening bell for the rising 135-pound star. He fired with the jab and changed levels with the punch, and never allowed Kambosos to set up his best shots.

Anytime the former unified titlist Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs) got close, Haney would step back and counter. When Kambosos would connect with a solid shot, Haney stepped inside and tied him up before he could capitalize.

Although this fight was lopsided from the onset, there will likely be a rematch later this year in Australia. Haney (28-0, 15 KOs), 28, of Las Vegas, is contractually obligated to another bout with Kambosos in his home country should he choose to exercise that right.

"Yes, 100%. We'll do it again," Kambosos said of a potential sequel. "Look, I gave him the shot. If I hadn't given him this shot, he wouldn't have had his moment right now.

"He grabbed and held a lot and did what he had to do to win. That's what it's about. You do what you have to do to win, and today they gave him the decision, but I'm sure it will change when we get it on again. ... This is going to make me hungrier."

Said Haney: "I'm not ducking or dodging nobody. If it makes sense, if the network wants it, I'll do it again. But it has to make sense."

Kambosos was coming off an upset split decision win over previously unbeaten world champion Teofimo Lopez last November, but he didn't come anywhere close to pulling off the magic in this one. Haney was just too smart, too fast, and too precise. Kambosos pressed harder in the late rounds when it became clear he needed a miracle to win the fight, but not even the judges did him any favors.

Haney implied that he thought he won every round.

"As the fight was going on I felt him giving up more and more," Haney stated. " I said, 'You know what? I'm going to pitch a shutout.'"

Kambosos admitted he has work to do before the second fight.

"His timing was just a little bit sharper than my timing," he revealed " I gotta go back to the drawing board with my team."

Finally, the confusion has come to an end. When Vasiliy Lomachenko was relieved of his WBC world title and given the WBC "Franchise" title, Haney, who was an interim titlist at the time, was elevated to the status of a full titleholder. However, the 23-year-old Haney was dubbed an "email champion" by many simply because of how he found out about the change.

We've had a couple fighters claim to be undisputed. Lopez beat Lomachenko prior to getting stunned by Kambosos, but there was one man with a shiny green belt they had yet to face.

After fighting the email champion label for nearly three years, Haney has finally shut up the naysayers. He isn't just some man; he is the man at 135-pounds.

He nearly got the job done without his father and trainer, Bill Haney. The elder Haney initially wasn't approved for a travel visa as a result of a 1992 drug conviction. However, on Thursday, he received clearance at the last minute and arrived roughly 15 hours before the opening bell.

"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," Haney said. "Since 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 that we were able to accomplish this together."