Regis Prograis is picking Devin Haney to defeat WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. in November in their Riyadh Season fight. The former two-time light welterweight champion, Prograis, says Haney’s fast feet and his boxing skills will enable him to outbox Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs).
(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)
Brian Norman Jr. Record Doubts
Regis admits that he’s never been impressed with Norman Jr, and he feels that fans need to take a look at the “caliber of opponent” for the last guy that he knocked out, Jin Sasaki. Prograis believes that fans are getting too excited about Norman Jr. without considering who he has beaten.
“I think Brian Norman is a good fight for Devin. For him, he’s got real fast feet. He don’t have power, but he does have fast feet. He knows how to get out of the way,” said Regis Prograis to YSM Sports Media, giving his thoughts on the Devin Haney vs. Brian Norman Jr. fight in November.
Devin’s fast feet won’t help him against Brian Norman Jr., as he cuts off the ring well. Moreover, he’s unlikely to be gun-shy or slow, unlike Haney’s last opponent, Jose Ramirez. When Norman Jr. corners Haney, he’s going to throw, and it’ll be with mean intentions. Haney is going to have pressure on him because of Turki Alalshikh’s no “Tom and Jerry” fights directive.
“As far as Brian Norman, I’ve never been too big on him, but he did just deliver a big knockout. We’ll see what happens, but I definitely think Devin should win that fight. So, we’ll see. He’s technical. I think Devin is better than people give him credit for.”
Prograis doesn’t explain why he’s not “too big” on Norman Jr, but it could be how he looked in 2023 in his fights against Quinton Randall and Jesus Antonio Perez Campos. Norman Jr. didn’t look good in either of those fights. He also looked average against Janelson Figueroa Bocachica in 2024.
Haney’s Fast Feet Strategy
“He doesn’t fight to hurt people. He fights to win on points. That’s his game plan, and he does move around a lot. He has fast feet,” said Prograis about Haney. “To get the victory, he’ll just move around. I think people are looking at that Brian Norman victory, but you’ve always got to look at the caliber of opponent he just fought.”
Regis has got it wrong. The reason Haney doesn’t get knockouts isn’t because he doesn’t want to hurt people. It’s because he lacks power, because you can see him loading up on many of his shots, and he can’t generate much power. He knocked Prograis down, but that was more of a case of catching him with a shot he didn’t see.
“I don’t know too much about the Japanese dude, but I don’t think he’s on the level that Devin Haney is on. I think Devin and Bill are going to take the biggest money fights,” said Prograis when asked why Haney is taking a risky fight against Norman after his lackluster performance against Jose Ramirez last May.
Haney wanted to continue earning big money for his fights on Turki Alalshikh’s cards. However, there were no options available after Ryan Garcia lost, and Teofimo Lopez chose not to fight him. Therefore, it was a situation where, if Haney wanted another big payday, the Norman Jr. fight was the only way for him to achieve it.
Haney Turki Alalshikh Payday
“He [Norman Jr] has a belt. So, what his team does is take the biggest fights for the biggest money, and he does have a belt behind him. I think that’s why he’s doing it,” said Regis about Haney.
The money obviously a big factor in why Haney is taking this risky fight that few people believe he can win against Norman. But it’s also likely a case of Devin not wanting to say no to Turki Alalshikh when he was asked to take the fight. Look at it this way.
Haney was paid $10 million for a tune-up against Jose Ramirez and performed poorly. So, he wasn’t in a great position to decline an offer from Turki because his stock was so low. He’d looked so bad against Ramirez that he probably didn’t feel comfortable declining Turki’s offer to fight Norman. Now, if he’d looked great against Ramirez, we might have seen him reject the Norman Jr. fight.
