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George Kambosos was not very pleased with the performance of the referee in the undisputed clash with Devin Haney,
On Sunday at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Haney outboxed Kambosos over twelve rounds to become the undisputed champion at lightweight, by unifying the WBC, IBF, WBA, WBO world titles.
The judges saw it 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 for Haney.
Kambosos believes that he was able to hurt Haney several times in the fight, but was never allowed to follow up because the referee allowed Haney to hold throughout the fight.
The Aussie star admits the contest lacked any fireworks or drama, as Haney primarily used his accurate jab and constant movement to pile up points.
“I felt when I landed my punches he was hurt every time. But the ref didn’t give us any help with the holding. I’m not going to take anything away from him. He just did what he does: he taps and runs. Very boring. I wanted to give this crowd a great fight, I tried my best. Any time it got hard for him, he held a lot. The referee should’ve warned him. I wasn’t frustrated, but the ref should have done his job,” Kambosos said to Sydney Morning Herald.
“It’s been a long time [since I lost a fight]. But how can I feel sad when the guy didn’t want to fight? It wasn’t like I got beat up. I’m not hurt at all. I feel like I’ve had half a fight — it was boring.”
Kambosos intends to exercise the immediate rematch clause, which directs Haney to travel back to Australia for a second meeting.
“I’d fight tomorrow if I could,” Kambosos said. “I have to be aware of his holding. I have to be aware of changing my angles. Be a little bit sharper. I was off pace with a few things. Anyway … I’ll come back. Now I’ll see who the real people are there were with me for the right reason.”