Triumphant Devin Haney has been compared to legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr after retaining his world titles with a masterclass against Australian warrior George Kambosos Jr.
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Mayweather boasted a unrivalled record of 50 wins from 50 fights - including 15 world titles - and fellow American Haney is more than halfway there.
Aged just 23, his unanimous points decision victory over Kambosos at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday brings his record to 29-0.
With his left jab doing the damage in their first world title fight in Melbourne in June, Haney this time used a heavy right to pound the gutsy Sydneysider.
Promoter Lou DiBella, who was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame earlier this year, said Haney could be an all-time great like fellow American Mayweather.
"Oh yeah, because he's really physically a baby as an athlete," DiBella said.
"I see him getting stronger at 25, 26, 27 - he's a beast - and I think you could see a decade with Devin Haney sitting at the top of this business, I think he has that kind of talent.
"George came here knowing he was probably walking into a tornado and he did it anyway, which is credit to him, but he had a guy who was coming right at him and he hurt him pretty badly.
"That's the greatness of a guy like this, and a guy like Floyd Mayweather and you notice I'm using them in the same breath and that's not accidental."
Despite owning four belts, Haney, who fights out of Las Vegas, was recently left off the Ring Magazine's top-ten pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
With his trainer dad Bill by his side, the young star, who started his professional career as a 16-year-old fighting in Mexico, said he now couldn't be denied.
"I dominated more than the first fight - this one I showed my jab, I showed my right hand, I showed it all, that I'm just a complete fighter," Haney said.
"They say that the pound-for-pound rankings is not just wins, it's your skill set and I showed that I have all the skills, I can do it all, and I'm the youngest world champion in boxing so if I wasn't on the pound-for-pound list before I should be now."
Haney has called out Ukranian former world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko but admitted it was tough to continue to make the 135lb lightweight cut.
"We got to talk to my team, my dad, and see what's next," he said.
"I felt good in there but 135 is not easy for me to make and it takes a lot of discipline and sacrifice.
"But there's a lot of big fights at 135 and a lot of big money at 135 so we'll see what's next but it's likely for me to stay."
Australian Associated Press
