Boxing news: George Kambosos reveals preparation for Devin Haney return bout

George Kambosos says he’s “lonely” and “cold in the dark“. But the Aussie star’s unique living arrangements are all part of a grand plan to get revenge on Devin Haney.

George Kambosos is back doing what he does best, operating in the shadows, training when others are sleeping.

In between punishing daily sessions, a simple number sits at the forefront of his mind, driving his latest quest for boxing greatness.

“Thirty-six minutes,” Kambosos tells himself, skipping alone in his multimillion-dollar gym, its black interior matching the dark, brooding intent of a man craving redemption.

“Just thirty-six minutes.”

Once again, 12 three-minute rounds await with Devin Haney.

Less than one half of NRL football, and ‘Ferocious’ Kambosos (20-1, 10KO) could find himself reunited with the shimmering IBF, WBA and WBO belts he lost to WBC lightweight king Haney (28-0, 15KO), his Marvel Stadium menace, in June.

It‘s been almost a year since Kambosos stunned the boxing world with his boilover of Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden in New York and in that time, the self-appointed Spartan Warrior has endured the ultimate rise and fall.

Shocking Lopez, humbled by Haney, Kambosos is now back at Ground Zero, ready to enter the ring beltless in next Sunday’s rematch against ’The Dream’ who turned their unification blockbuster at Marvel Stadium into a hometown nightmare.

Boxing champ George Kambosos in his gym.

Kambosos has heard the whispers. That this will be another Melbourne mismatch. That he will be a slight speed bump in the unbeaten Haney‘s surge to greatness and an eventual mega bout with Ukraine superstar Vasiliy Lomachenko.

But Kambosos has been in this position before — maligned, mocked, unheralded — and it’s a place that ignites his competitive fire.

“I know I’m the underdog. I am back to familiar territory again,” he says, seven days out from his revenge mission at Rod Laver Arena.

“A lot of people have written me off, but I have shaken the world before and I can shake it again.

“I have copped it from some unqualified idiots, but I haven‘t lost my self belief.

“The kind of competitor I am, yes he beat me in the first fight, but if someone beats me the first time playing chess or PlayStation, I will come back straight away. I will study how to beat them until I beat them. It drives me crazy not winning.

“I lost my belts in 36 minutes to Haney, but I am just 36 minutes away from getting back to the top of the mountain again.

“I am just below the summit, but I have a second opportunity.

“I want Haney to know if someone beats me the first time, I will come back like an animal the second time.”

Devin Haney beat Kambosos in their first world title bout.

Kambosos wasted energy hyping up the bout.

The build-up to the Kambosos-Haney opener at Marvel was promotional bedlam.

Ferocious resembled a budding Prime Minister on a campaign trail. He was on the sell, kissing babies, taking photos with thousands of fans and dancing and shadow boxing to Greek music in the centre of Melbourne‘s Federation Square.

This time, the silence is deafeningly brilliant for Kambosos. The 29-year-old has temporarily abandoned his wife and three kids, moving into his Sydney gym. He has a makeshift bed, a TV, old boxing videos and a few books to keep him company.

He is reading a book titled Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness, written by Tim Grover, the personal trainer and mind coach who helped NBA stars Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant to sporting immortality.

It is fitting that the rematch is at Rod Laver Arena. Home to the Australian Open, it is the place where tennis icon Roger Federer, one of Kambosos‘ most admired athletes, has fallen and risen.

“Reading the book, I have connected with the minds of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant,” Kambosos said.

“These guys were very competitive like me. They lost games and they missed shots and they have been the villain, but as champions they always bounced back and had the last laugh.

“One of the things I have taken from the book, I got caught up trying to build my brand rather than the process of winning.

“I am proud of what I did for Australian boxing, but did I cost myself in the Haney fight because I was too focused on promoting my brand? Possibly.

“All the sporting greats, Michael Jordan, Roger Federer, they have had losses, but they bounce back to be even better.

“I can do the same.”

Kambosos has gone back to basics this time.

Which is why Kambosos has retreated to a Spartan life.

“My wife, Bec, and the kids went for a holiday to Portugal to visit her grandmother and when they got back, I moved into my gym,” he said.

“I‘ve been here four-and-a-half weeks now. I’ve had a lot of peace and quiet. I have my bed upstairs and the gym is downstairs.

“I have a TV and I’m using it to study fights of Haney, myself and old-school fights. I’m not here to watch Home and Away and Neighbours like other couch potatoes.

“I will visit my wife and kids some days, have dinner together as a family, then I go back to the gym, lonely and cold in the dark and ready for work the next day.

“I have cut down my people big time. The gym is so quiet now. I am not letting a lot of people in.

“The biggest thing is I’ve had to be selfish. Once this fight is done, I will let people back in, but right now, I have closed the door and been ‘Ferocious’ to get back to the top.

“The Emperor who beat Lopez is dead. He is finished. He was only here a short time, but Ferocious is still alive.

“This business is brutal. I know the burden of being a world champion and the curse that comes with holding all those belts

“Haney deserves respect. He is a great boxer, a champion, but now he is the hunted … and I want to take all the belts off him.”