Pacquiao likely to attend sparring partner Kambosos’s match vs. Haney in Melbourne on June 5

2 June 2022

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Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is expected to attend George Kambosos Jr’s fight against Devin Haney at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on Sunday 5 June.

“That’s what I’m hearing, that he’s going to be here,” Kambosos said.

Kambosos was Pacquiao’s main sparring partner in preparation for the fight with Jeff Horn in 2017 and has remained the leading sparring partner for the Pacman’s fights after Horn. In fact, Kambosos has sparred more than 250 rounds with Pacquiao, who recently lost a bid to become the President of the Philippines.

According to Kambosos, he looks forward to catching up with him.

“We keep in contact and unfortunately, he didn’t succeed in his push to become president, but he’s a strong man. I’m sure he will be pushing for the next election,” Kambosos said.

When asked what learnings he can take from the hall-of famer and multiple world champion, Kambosos said: “My time with Manny Pacquiao was invaluable for my career, especially early in the piece.

“I was doing my 12-round preparations like he was, so when I got to my championship fights, I knew exactly what I had to do to become world champion.

“He said I was ready to become world champion back then. Hearing that from an all-time great, from a guy like Manny Pacquiao, when he’s telling you in 2017-18 you should be a champion right now …that gave me an extra boost.”

George Kambosos Jr has pledged to defeat American boxer Devin Haney in a possible epic bout.

Kambosos is the underdog for his first title defence but has a rematch clause in his contract in case he loses against Haney. However, if Kambosos gets past the American, his next defence will also be at Marvel Stadium against Vasily Lomachenko in October or November. This would be the second fight of a two-fight deal with the Victorian government.

Meanwhile, Filipino boxer Aston Palicte has arrived in Australia and will be battling against Aussie Jason Moloney as part of the undercard of this main event on Sunday.