Coach Kenny Ellis questions whether Devin Haney has the “tolerance for pain” that he’s going to need to be durable long enough to beat Brian Norman Jr. in their 12-round battle for his WBO welterweight title in 18 days on November 22 at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Flashbacks to the Garcia Loss
Haney (32-0, 16 KOs) showed an unwillingness to stand in the trenches and fight last May in his first contest back after the thrashing he endured in his loss to Ryan Garcia in April 2024. Devin looked like he had combat fatigue and had lost his nerve. Mentally, he resembled a broken fighter.
Going up against what many view as the hardest puncher in the 147-lb division, Norman Jr., Haney can’t afford to be shell-shocked or dealing with PTSD to have a shot at winning.
“He can box. He can bang. He can take a punch. He’s got good feet,” said coach Kenny Ellis to MillCity boxing about WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. “He’s got a selection of punches with each hand a lot more than Haney. He gets them off better [on the inside], and he’s not a bad boxer at all.”
Norman Jr’s two-fisted power is going to be a major problem for Haney, because it’s not just one area that he must worry about in this fight. Not only that. Brian Jr. has a powerful jab and a long reach that will make it difficult for Haney to fight in his usual style without getting hit.
“I have never seen a welterweight fight where both fighters didn’t have to engage. Both fighters are going to have to engage at some point,” said Ellis about Haney and Norman Jr. “That’s going to make the difference in the fight. When it’s time to engage, can you engage?”
Durability Doubts Creep In
Haney didn’t engage in his last fight against Jose Ramirez, and he got by in that fight, winning a wide 12-round unanimous decision by the scores 119-109, 119-109, and 118-110 on May 2, 2025, at Times Square in New York. Devin won, but fans ridiculed his performance due to the excessive running he did.
A Dangerous Stalker in Front of Him
“Pain comes into it in a fight. Are you willing to take the fight. Are you durable? Do you have a tolerance for pain. That’s the stuff that is going to make a difference. I got [Norman] being the stalker in the fight,” said Kenny.
The shots that Norman Jr. lands, Haney may not be awake long enough to feel pain. He won’t be able to stand and fight the Georgia native because he hits too hard.
Devin will have to stay on the move throughout, following the same game plan he used in his last fight against Ramirez. That’s not good for Turki Alalshikh or the fans. This is on DAZN PPV, and there are a lot of expectations for this fight.
It’s one of two on the card that is expected to be competitive. The headliner between WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde is considered a mismatch in favor of ‘The Mexican Monster.’