Promoter Bob Arum is predicting a knockout for his fighter, Brian Norman Jr., in his title defense of his WBO welterweight belt against Devin Haney on November 22nd. Arum believes that Norman Jr. (28-0, 21 KOs) is younger and more “live” than Haney (32-0, 15 KOs).
He didn’t mention how skittish Haney looked in his last fight against Jose Ramirez. He stayed on most of the entire fight, moving in continuous circles around the ring. That fear of being hit caused some fans to suspect that Haney is showing signs of having PTSD from his loss a year ago to Ryan Garcia.
Arum’s Knockout Call
“That’s why we took the fight, because we think Norman will knock out Haney. Devin is a very good fighter, but we think Brian is a better one,” said promoter Bob Arum to Sean Zittel. “So, it’ll be determined in November in the ring, but we like our chances with Brian. Haney is an excellent fighter. So, it should be an interesting fight.”
It’s hard to disagree with Arum about his knockout prediction. Norman Jr. has progressed a lot in the last year and is punching with more power with either hand. Even with Haney using the same type of game plan that he had against Jose Ramirez last May, he’s not going to be able to evade Norman Jr. for the entire fight to avoid being stopped.
The video clip that was posted last week of Devin working out on a track field gave fans a glimpse of how he plans to fight Norman Jr. He’s going to run from him like he did in his previous fight at Times Square against Ramirez. Haney is assuming that the judges will give him a decision using that style. He’s also banking on Turki Alalshikh choosing to continue using him for his Riyadh Season events.
Haney’s KO Drought
“Brian is the young, live fighter. Who is the fighter that Haney knocked out? He hasn’t had a knockout in a long time. I think Brian is the younger guy and the more live fighter,” said Arum.
The last fighter that Haney stopped was Zaur Abdullaev in 2019. That was over nine fights ago. Devin isn’t going to try for a knockout. He’s going to look to win a decision by out-boxing Norman Jr. and making it difficult for him to land his power shots. Haney should try to KO Norman because that would raise his stock through the roof. But he won’t try because it’ll be too risky.