Brian Norman Sr. literally laughed out loud when he was asked about speculation his son has overtrained for the biggest fight of his career.
Brian Norman Jr’s father and trainer can’t believe some people took what Greg Hackett has said about his son’s preparation for his fight versus
Devin Haney on November 22 as fact.
The elder Norman knows better than to pay attention to much of what’s discussed and/or written on the Internet. The retired fighter finds this rumor especially laughable because Hackett isn’t exactly an objective observer as it relates to the Norman family.
Norman Sr. came out of retirement to beat Hackett, a boxer and trainer from Philadelphia, by unanimous decision February 15 in a six-round cruiserweight contest in Jonesboro, Georgia. Norman (18-11, 5 KOs) fought for the first time in 14 years.
“That rumor came from Greg Hackett, the person I beat up in February,” Norman Sr. told
The Ring. “A man who's 4-24, come on. What are we talking about? Greg is not and has nothing to do with the camp. Understand what this is – people grasping at straws. These are the things that are being said – he's overtrained, gets tired after round six, don't have no wind, flatfooted, no feet, slow. It's so many things.
“All of these are just things they’re hoping for. They’re hoping that these things are true, so they can have something to hang their hat on. [Hackett is] just out on YouTube running his mouth, giving some people some hope. That’s all. He’s in Philadelphia. He knows nothing about us.”
Norman (28-0, 22 KOs, 1 NC), of Conyers, Georgia, is a slight favorite to beat the more accomplished, experienced Haney in their 12-round fight for Norman’s WBO welterweight title.
Haney (32-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC), of Henderson, Nevada, will attempt to become a world champion in a third division when they square off in the 12-round DAZN Pay-Per-View co-feature of “The Ring IV: Night of the Champions” card at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ($59.99 in the United States; $24.99 in the UK).
Norman, 24, will move the remainder of his camp from just outside of Atlanta to Riyadh next week to get acclimated to a new timezone. He’ll compete outside the United States in a second straight bout.
Norman Sr. is sure his son will arrive halfway around the world feeling fresh and more than ready to perform impressively, the way he did when he
viciously knocked out Japan’s Jin Sasaki (19-2-1, 17 KOs) in the fifth round June 19 at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
“He’s not overtrained,” Norman Sr. said. “But I got a question: That was six weeks out when [Hackett] said that. So, if he’s overtrained six weeks out, that sounds like something a little bit of rest could fix, right? I could cut so many holes in all these stories out there. If you’re overtrained, that means you rest. Take two, three days off and we’re good. You’re saying he’s overtrained now and we’re just gonna keep overtraining him. It makes no sense. It’s comical at this point how social media and YouTube make it go so far.
“At the same time, it makes me get an understanding of who I am, what I know, the experience that I have, what I see and the trust I have in myself, the results that Brian Norman has shown, what he has done and who he is. You know not to listen to these people. No matter who they are because some do have dogs in the fight, axes to grind with certain people, so you just don't listen to them - you listen to yourself.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.