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Brian Norman Sr. Dismisses Devin Haney's Chances As 'Non Power Puncher'
Ring Magazine
FEATURED INTERVIEW
Keith Idec
Keith Idec
RingMagazine.com
Brian Norman Sr. Dismisses Devin Haney's Chances As 'Non-Power Puncher'
Brian Norman Sr. realistically looks at his son’s opponents when breaking down the WBO welterweight champion’s upcoming fights.

After analyzing Devin Haney, Brian Norman Jr.’s father and trainer determined the former undisputed lightweight champion won’t have the firepower to fend off his son in their 12-round, 147-pound title fight November 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Haney (32-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC) will make his debut at the welterweight limit when challenging Norman (28-0, 22 KOs, 1 NC) in the co-feature of “The Ring IV: Night of the Champions” card at ANB Arena.


“I look at it from both sides,” Norman Sr. told The Ring. “I watch Brian Norman fights. It’s my job to look at how I would beat Brian Norman. I look at the things he do and don’t do. Imma be real with you – if you a power puncher, you got a much better chance. But being a non-power puncher, Haney don’t do enough to beat Brian Norman Jr. There’s nothing that he does.

“So, I’m looking at it like, ‘OK, yeah, I can see where I can come up with a plan. You can see openings here and there, we can do this and that.’ Yeah, but one punch, and you gotta deal with all the heat coming back at you.”

Haney told The Ring he’ll be a harder puncher as a full-fledged welterweight, not needing to deplete himself to make lower weights anymore. The Oakland native weighed in at a career-high 143 pounds for his most recent fight, a 12-round unanimous points victory over Jose Ramirez (29-3, 18 KOs) on The Ring’s outdoor show May 2 at Times Square in New York.

The Oakland native has gone the 12-round distance in nine straight fights, dating back to November 2019. He also survived three knockdowns during a 12-round, majority-decision defeat to Ryan Garcia in April 2024, though the result was changed to a no-contest because Garcia tested positive for ostarine, a banned substance.


The 26-year-old Haney hasn’t produced a knockout since he stopped Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev in the fourth round of their WBC interim lightweight title fight in September 2019.

Norman’s power is undeniable.

The 24-year-old Norman, of Conyers, Georgia, has won each of his three welterweight championship bouts by knockout or technical knockout. Norman dropped Japan’s Jin Sasaki (19-2-1, 17 KOs) twice in the first round and knocked him unconscious with a left hook in the fifth round of their June 19 bout at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

Norman (-135) is a slight favorite over Haney (+110), according to DraftKings. They’ll box before Phoenix native David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) defends his WBC light heavyweight title against England’s Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) in the 12-round main event of a four-fight DAZN Pay-Per-View show in the United States ($59.99) and the UK (£24.99).

Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.
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