Manny Pacquiao praises former sparring partner George Kambosos Jr ahead of Devin Haney fight

Manny Pacquiao has heaped praise on George Kambosos Jr for his hard work and dedication ahead of his lightweight fight with Devin Haney.

The Australian star, a former sparring partner of Pacquiao’s, will go head to head with his American rival at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on June 5.

Kambosos Jr, 28, famously pulled off the upset of the year after outpointing Teofimo Lopez to become the new unified 135lbs champion last November.

Pacquiao knows Kambosos better than most, having first used him as a sparring partner to help him prepare for his fight against Jeff Horn in 2017.

And he admits he was blown away by Kambosos’ enthusiasm and work ethic whilst training at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym together.

“I look at the training videos he has been posting on his various social platforms and I’m amazed at what he’s doing in the gym,” Pacquiao said in quotes reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.

“No-one is in better condition. You can tell he wants to keep those belts for as long as possible.

“It’s been a long journey for George, and he has sacrificed a lot to get to the top — I do not see him letting that go.

“How many world titles can he win? He’s only limited by his imagination and his ambition. So far, George has accomplished everything he has set his mind to.

“From the beginning I knew, and my team knew, George was a very good fighter. That is why I wanted George in all my training camps. It went beyond giving me good work. He made me work.

“He was a sparring partner in name only. You could sense he had big ambitions in boxing. He wanted to be the best and he treated his sparring sessions with me as part of his education.

“I never saw the same fighter twice. He was more than a sparring partner. He was a training