Devin Haney dared to be great and proved to be even better.

The 23-year-old Las Vegas-based champ traveled to the other side of the world to fully unify the lightweight division. Haney delivered a masterclass performance in a twelve-round, unanimous decision win over George Kambosos Jr. Matching scores of 116-112 by judges Zoltan Enyedi and Benoit Roussel were far too close, while Pawel Kardyni had it 118-110 for the unbeaten American in their ESPN-televised main event Saturday evening (Sunday afternoon local time) in front of packed crowd of 41,129 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

With the win, Haney defended the WBC title for the fifth time and won the lineal/WBA/IBF/WBO crown from Kambosos. The moment nearly came without his father and head trainer, Bill Haney who for more than two weeks was not permitted to travel to Australia before an eleventh-hour ruling in his favor allowed the family to be together for this moment.

“This is a dream come true,” Haney said after the crowning achievement of his career to this point. “I was going through it without my dad being here. This was a big moment for both of us. We both dreamed of it. When we started out, we said we wanted to be the best. It would have hurt me to accomplish this without him.

“I’m so thankful. Alhamdulillah, Dad, I’m so thankful.”

The championship clash itself followed a contentious build-up with plenty of subplots. In addition to Bill Haney’s travel issues, the younger Haney was without cutman “Do It All” Bob Ware, who was stopped by Australia’s Border Force on Friday due to a discrepancy in his visa application.

The development occurred roughly 24 hours before Kambosos missed weight on his first attempt during the official weigh-in, though coming back to hit the mark roughly 75 minutes later. The proud lightweight refused to entertain it as an excuse for coming up short on Sunday.

“It was definitely not a factor,” insisted Kambosos. “[Haney] just boxed and stepped up his game. He moved, he boxed. He didn’t want to mix it up, but that’s his game.”

Haney worked the jab to start the fight. Kambosos was mindful of the incoming, reserved in his own attack as he sought the right opportunity to uncork his right hand. Haney disallowed it, though Kambosos managed to find counter opportunities. Any swing and miss by Haney was immediately met by Kambosos rushing in to attack.

Kambosos drew a rise out of the near-capacity crowd early in round two. Haney walked in a straight line, getting clipped with a right hand by the unbeaten local favorite. Haney briefly stutter-stepped but quickly recovered to return to his jab.

Haney came out sharp and fast to start round three. Kambosos struggled to get out of the way of Haney’s rapid-fire jab, with the American also connecting with right hands. Haney showed slick infighting skills, connecting with a left hook and then immediately slipping a counter. Kambosos wildly missed with a left hook near the end of the round as Haney fully hit his stride.

Momentum remained with Haney, the betting favorite entering the fight and who was in control throughout round four. Kambosos appeared unsettled, getting caught with an overhand right as the two stood center ring midway through the round. A right hand got through for Kambosos late in the frame, which Haney took well.

A right uppercut split the guard of Kambosos to begin round five of a championship fight that saw Haney brimming with confidence. Kambosos was lectured by 2020 Trainer of the Year nominee Javiel Centeno in between rounds but unable to turn the tide as Haney was able to keep Kambosos within punching range and then immediately avoid the incoming during nearly every exchange.

Haney’s stellar defense remained on display early in round six. The Las Vegas-based champ connected with an uppercut to the body, which Kambosos brushed off but without a sufficient response. Kambosos managed a left hook upstairs midway through the round, catching Haney but not followed up with anything to make him pay beyond that point.

Referee Hector Afu was active in a fight that barely required his presence, warning Kambosos for pushing down on the back of Haney’s head in round seven. The moments where Kambosos couldn’t tie up his fellow unbeaten titlist saw Haney dazzle the Australian-Greek with hand and foot speed, though more was demanded by his father and head trainer Bill Haney, who was able to get his visa issues cleared in time to take the lead in the corner.

The elder Haney called for more feints, to which the son responded in round eight. Haney connected with a classic one-two and then spun out of Kambosos’ punching range before the unified titlist could even let his hands go. Kambosos landed a body shot near the end of the round. Haney brushed it off and pumped a double jab before the bell and grinned in Kambosos’ face as the two went to their respective corners.

Both fighters landed right hands to start round nine. Haney was first to the draw, with Kambosos responding seconds later. Haney took a spill to the canvas after a push by Kambosos, accurately ruled as such by the referee. It was effective in allowing Kambosos to close the gap. He didn’t land much when there but was able to rough up Haney who had minor swelling under his right eye.

Haney stuck to the basics in round ten. Everything began with the jab, while Kambosos was limited to one punch at a time and not landing very often. An overhand right managed to get through for Kambosos midway through the round, followed up seconds later with a chopping right before wrapping Haney’s right hand in his left arm. Haney landed a left and chopping right before sliding back in the final 30 seconds.

More of the same was offered as the fight entered the championship rounds. Kambosos stalked but only able to offer one shot at a time. Haney used constant movement to never allow Kambosos to set his feet and land anything of substance. A short left hook by Kambosos was immediately countered by a left hook from Haney who then moved to his right.

Haney pumped his jab to start the twelfth and final round. Kambosos wildly swung and missed with a shot upstairs, his momentum causing him to fall into the ropes. Haney used lateral movement for the duration of the fight, shooting his left hand and covering up with his right anytime Kambosos tried to counter.   

The two briefly embraced by fight’s end, a minor peace offering after a contentious fight week. The final scorecards sent the capacity crowd home disappointed, while Haney collected the biggest win of his career the same way his career began—on the road, thousands of miles from home.

“I was sticking to the gameplan, hitting and not getting hit,” noted Haney of accomplishing the achievement. “I took the last round off because I knew I was comfortably ahead. I fought a good, smart fight.”

Haney’s gamble on himself to push for this fight proved well worth the extraordinary effort to arrive at this point. The unbeaten American runs his record to 28-0 (15KOs), forever putting to rest any claims of being an e-mail champ as he becomes—at age 23—the youngest-ever undisputed champion in the four-belt era.

He also becomes the first undisputed lightweight champion in any era since the late, great Pernell Whitaker accomplished the feat in 1990. 

The level of dominance was shown more so in the final, unofficial Compubox statistics than in the actual scorecards. Haney landed 147-of-588 total punches (25%), compared to just 100-of-417 (24%) for Kambosos, whose six-plus month title reign ends without a successful defense. He claimed the lineal/WBA/IBF/WBO belts with a twelve-round, split decision win over Teofimo Lopez Jr. last November 27 in New York City but unable to retain the titles in front of the second-largest crowd in modern Australia boxing history.

“It was an amazing event for this country,” stated Kambosos, who falls to 20-1 (10KOs) with the defeat. “I want to take the best tests and the hardest tests. I’m going to give him full respect after his victory. I’ll let him have his time and we’ll do it again.”

Even in suffering his first defeat, Kambosos proved to be a massive draw in his Australia homeland. Plenty of opportunities figure to await the proud Australian-Greek.

For now, only one interests him.

“I’m going to take a few things from this and look forward to doing it again at the end of this year,” said Kambosos, who has the right to exercise a one-way rematch clause should he choose.

There are more appealing options for Haney, including possible fights with rising superstar Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (27-0, 25KOs), two-division and reigning lineal/WBC/WBO junior lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson or even Vasiliy Lomachenko (16-2, 11KOs), the former three-division titlist who was supposed to fight Kambosos but was forced to withdraw due to serving as part of the Ukrainian defense team against the current Russian invasion in his homeland.

Instead, the waiting game is upon the division’s new king.

“Inshallah,” stated Haney. “If Allah wants it to happen, I will be back.”

Until then, Haney can take comfort in knowing the lightweight division officially runs through him after years of running in the direction of all the top players who were unwilling to get in the ring with him.

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