Absolute lightweight champion (up to 61.2 kg) American Devin Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) gave
interview for Michelle Jo Phelps.
In a conversation, Haney commented on his status and the fight with former Australian champion George Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs), spoke about the rating of the best fighters regardless of the weight category, commented on possible fights against WBA semi-champion American Gervonta Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) and the former holder of three titles Ukrainian Vasily Lomachenko (16-2, 10 KOs). Also, the young champion told his opinion about the fight Spence – Crawford.
– Congratulations. People called you the paper champion, and now they call you the absolute champion. How do you feel?
“First of all, thank you. I feel good. I knew that eventually that time would come. It’s good that this moment has finally come, but we can’t focus too much on it, because we are approaching the next fight and now is the time to defend the belts. They say that it is easy to defend them, but I will say that it is more difficult to defend them. I will show that I am a true champion and successfully defend the belts on October 16th.
We know it’s not easy, but you made it look easy. It was definitely a brilliant victory for you. Were you surprised by the performance of Kambosos?
“I knew he couldn’t stop what I wanted to do. I knew the fight wasn’t going to be close. I knew I was on a different level and it showed.
- If you think otherwise, you’re a hater. Shakur Stevenson named the best lightweight
Let’s talk about the P4P list. Does it piss you off that people don’t put you on the pound-for-pound list? Let me say that I am a voter and I did what you want. But I cannot be the sole determining voice. I think there are 13 of us at the moment. I have you number 5.
– That’s why I like you [обнимает и смеётся]. These are all opinions. It is what it is. You have me fifth – and that’s all that matters [улыбается].
– Are you surprised? It seems that you are worried that you are not recognized, and you are the owner of the title of absolute champion.
– As long as I’m your number 5, I don’t care what they all say.
— [смеётся] Kambosos acknowledged that you were better that night, but he made a comment about clinches that the referee didn’t allow clinches. Do you have an answer for this?
“He can say whatever he wants. With or without clinches, he couldn’t stop anything I wanted to do. He didn’t say anything about why I beat him so easily. This time you will see that clinches mean nothing. I’m on a completely different level, and he will have to admit it.
— You mentioned that you would be open to a duel with Tank. But you also told Bob Arum that you are open to fighting Lomachenko. Who is your priority? If you could choose who would you fight next?
“We know Tank doesn’t fight anyone. He doesn’t want to fight anyone. This has been happening for a long time. So a more realistic fight is with Lomachenko.
- Haney-Lomachenko. Crawford was asked to name a favorite
Lomachenko is back against Ortiz. How do you expect this fight to go?
“I don’t know much about Ortiz, to be honest. Let’s see how he (Lomachenko) will look after the war and after the environment in which he was. Let’s see.
We had half news today that Spence and Crawford would fight on November 19th. Who will you choose as the winner?
“I like Errol, I like Crawford. They are both my guys. I’m friends with them outside the ring. I support both. It’s a 50-50 fight. May the best man win. I can’t wait for their fight. My birthday is November 17th. So this will be my birthday present.