Brian Norman Jr. agrees with much of the criticism Devin Haney has endured since he utilized a safe strategy to outbox Jose Ramirez on May 2 in New York's Times Square.

Questioning Haney’s heart based on only one fight, however, is shortsighted, in Norman’s opinion. Haney impressed Norman with how he got off the canvas three times and fought back against Ryan Garcia.

The former undisputed lightweight champion earned even more respect from Norman when he agreed recently to challenge the unbeaten WBO welterweight champion for his title.

Turki Alalshikh announced through his X account Sunday that Norman and Haney have reached an agreement to fight sometime in November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The date of their 12-round, 147-pound championship clash has yet to be determined.

“Even if he’s gun-shy or whatever, you could never fault his heart,” Norman told The Ring. “Why does he need to fight me? I just came off the biggest knockout of my career, possibly the knockout of the year. My momentum is going high. Why does he need to fight me? So, no matter what, I know he got heart, he got dog in him.

“Even in the Ryan Garcia fight, he was still stepping [to] Ryan Garcia. He wasn’t boxing. He was going at him. So, we can never fault his heart, we can never fault his determination. So, that’s why I just gotta work a million times harder.”

Norman knocked Japanese contender Jin Sasaki unconscious with a picturesque left hook in the fifth round June 19 at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. The hard-hitting Norman’s vicious knockout caught Alalshikh’s attention and enabled the Conyers, Georgia, native to secure a career-high payday and the highest-profile fight of his career through the head of Riyadh Season.

Haney hoped to fight Garcia again after he defeated Ramirez on The Ring’s pay-per-view show almost two months ago. Rolly Romero ruined that plan by dropping Garcia in the second round and upsetting him by unanimous decision in the 12-round main event that immediately followed Haney’s wide win on the cards over Ramirez, a former WBC/WBO 140-pound champion.

Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs, 1 NC), of Victorville, California, and Haney (32-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC), of Henderson, Nevada, fought for the first time that night in more than a year. The New York State Athletic Commission suspended Garcia for a year and changed the result of their fight in April 2024 to a no-contest because he tested positive for Ostarine, a substance banned by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.

Haney’s handlers then thought they had a deal for him to instead face Ring/WBO junior welterweight champ Teofimo Lopez on Aug. 16 at ANB Arena in Riyadh. Negotiations for that fight fell apart after Lopez attacked Alalshikh on social media, which again left Haney seeking his next opponent through no fault of his own.

Norman (28-0, 22 KOs, 1 NC) wasn’t the least bit surprised Haney chose him, despite his spectacular knockout of Sasaki (19-2-1, 7 KOs). Haney can become a world champion in a third division if he beats Norman in the Oakland, California, native’s first fight at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds.

“People try and call [Haney] a duck,” Norman said. “But real deal, sit here and think about it — what fight has he not accepted? Like even with the [Gervonta Davis] stuff, talks only start happening when one of them have a fight coming up and already signed a deal. So, those fights can’t happen. With Shakur Stevenson, of course [Stevenson] said it was a lowball offer, but they still sent something out there. We have never heard of him actually ducking a fight, so people can push that narrative to the side.”