Haney: Pernell Whitaker Was Undisputed And Defended His Belts, I Want to Do The Same

Becoming undisputed lightweight champion was always among Devin Haney’s stated goals.

However, simply winning all the titles was never the end of the game.

Haney of Las Vegas is set for his sixth overall defense of the WBC title, and first as the true king of lightweights, when he takes on Sydney’s George Kambosos Jr. The rematch will take place Oct. 16 on ESPN from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. Just four months later, the undefeated American traveled Down Under to become the first undisputed lightweight champion in the four-belt era. and, at 23, the youngest at any weight to accomplish the feat.

“It was a dream come true for me to become undisputed and have my name mentioned with the greats,” Haney said during a recent news conference. “It doesn’t stop there. I want my name to be mentioned with the greats still.”

Haney (28-0, 15KOs) entered the fight as the WBC champion, making it big along the way when he convincingly outpointed Kambosos (20-1, 10KOs) in a landslide victory to claim the lineal/WBA/IBF titles. /WBO as well. Scores of 116-112, 116-112 and 118-110 all landed in favor of Haney, who became the first undisputed lightweight champion in any era since the late legendary Pernell Whitaker (40-4-1, 17KOs; 1NC) totally unified. the split in August 1990.

Few undisputed champions have been able to hold titles together, either vacating them one by one or leaving the division altogether in search of a championship at the next weight. Whitaker didn’t stop after knocking out Juan Nazario in the first round to win the WBA title and retain his WBC and IBF belts, adding three more all-belt title defenses before moving up for good in 1992.

That’s the legacy Haney wants to leave behind while he can still make lightweight.

“I want my name mentioned with Pernell Whitaker,” Haney insisted. “He was undisputed at lightweight and defended his belts as undisputed. I want to do the same. I want my name to be next to those who defended the belts. I want to be the undisputed youngest to defend the belts and I will be victorious. Inshallah.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox