WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. made it clear today that Devin Haney won’t see the final bell when they fight on November 22nd at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Brian, 24, views this fight as an opportunity to showcase his talent in front of fans who have never seen him fight. Indeed, many casual fans are picking Haney because they’re more familiar with him. If Norman Jr. knocks out Devin as he predicts, he will gain a lot of fans overnight.
Norman Jr.’s “Bricks for Hands”
Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) says he’s got “bricks for fans,” and he believes Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) will only last as long as it takes for him to connect with one of his “rocks” in their co-feature fight on the David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde card.
“He’s not a Tom and Jerry fighter. He can box. He can come forward and do whatever he’s got to do,” said Brian Norman Jr. to Fight Hub TV about Devin Haney. “I think it’ll be a great fight while it lasts. I got bricks for hands. The first punch I landed on Jin Sasaki, he dropped. I’m out hurting folks. I got rocks in these gloves. For some reason, whatever I punch, I break.”
Haney’s Post-Garcia PTSD?
Haney, 26, didn’t become a Tom and Jerry fighter until he was beaten up by Ryan Garcia last year. That experience did something to Devin, making him skittish and afraid to get hit. Some fans think Haney has PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder] from the beating Garcia administered to him. It’s still too early to know if it’s permanent. The Norman fight will tell us a lot about Haney.
“A lot of people tend to think I don’t have feet. I smother myself. All these crazy things,” said Norman Jr., reacting to the perception some fans have about him being flat-footed and unable to move around the ring on a runner like Haney.
In his fight against Jin Sasaki, Norman Jr. showed that he could hit him even when he was moving around the ring. Brian has a longer reach than Haney, and he’s capable of landing his powerful left hook and jab from a long distance.
Norman Jr. Complete Fighter
“I feel like I’ve got the perfect opponent in front of me. He’s got great feet, a great jab, and great movement,” said Norman Jr. “Plus, the IQ that he has is amazing. This is the perfect fight for me to showcase that I am a true, complete fighter. I can counter-punch. I can brawl. I can get active with it. I can box as well.”
Haney is going to be jabbing, moving, and holding all night. He’s going to try to make it difficult for Norman Jr. to land anything at all because he’s going to be worried about getting clipped.
