A Last-Minute Reprieve for Bill Haney who has left for Australia

According to various reports, border fence authorities in Australia had an 11^th-hour about-face and approved Bill Haney’s visa application allowing Haney to be in his son Devin’s corner on Saturday night (Sunday in Australia) when Devin opposes George Kambosos Jr in a battle for lightweight supremacy at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. The elder Haney was reportedly able to book a flight to Melbourne on Friday morning. Factoring in the time difference, he would be arriving on Saturday evening local time, less than 24 hours before the opening bell.

Devin Haney’s regular cutman Bob Ware was reportedly not so fortunate. According to prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, Ware failed to acknowledge a prior conviction on his visa application and was detained at the Melbourne Airport and placed into a detention facility. Also missing will be Ben Davison who assisted Bill Haney in Devin’s last two fights, victories over Jorge Linares and Jojo Diaz. Whether Davison applied for a visa is uncertain, but he would have likely been turned down owing to the fact that his gym in Essex, England, had become an affiliate of MTK Global, the recently disbanded company allegedly controlled by fugitive Daniel Kinahan who has been identified as one of the leaders with his father and brother of an international drug cartel.

Australia bans foreigners with a “substantial criminal record” from visiting the country. As noted by USA Today boxing writer Lance Pugmire, one definition of “substantial” is imprisonment for more than a year. Bill Haney served 40 months in a federal prison following his 1992 conviction for possession and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. According to Pugmire, Haney was part of an Oakland group seeking to expand its reach into Louisville and Indianapolis.

Bill Haney’s arrest and conviction happened 30 years ago, before Devin was born, and Bill was upfront about it on his visa application, but to no avail until this new and unexpected development.

Devin Haney reportedly first laced on a pair of gloves when he was eight years old. He was barely seventeen when he made his pro debut in Tijuana, Mexico. His dad has been in his corner for his entire journey.

When pictured side-by-side, Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) appears to be the bigger man. Kambosos, who acquired the WBA, IBF, and WBO 135-pound belts and became a national hero with his upset of Teofimo Lopez, is also undefeated (20-0, 10). He grew up in Melbourne which has a large population of people that share his Greek heritage.

The crowd at Marvel Stadium, which has a retractable roof, is expected to slightly exceed the crowd for Manny Pacquiao’s match with Jeff Horn at Brisbane in 2017. That bout drew 51,026 which stands as the modern record for a boxing show in Australia.

The prelims will start at 7:30 pm ET on ESPN+. The main card on ESPN is slated to start at 9 pm ET. The best guess is that Kambosos vs. Haney will commence shortly before midnight for viewers in the Eastern time zone. At last look, Devin Haney was a consensus 17/10 favorite.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE