David Benavidez is picking Devin Haney to defeat WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. on November 22 in Riyadh.
He says the “experience” that Haney (32-0, 16 KOs) has against “great fighters” will give him the advantage that he needs to defeat Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) at the ANB Arena in their co-feature fight.
“I think Devin Haney is going to win because of how much experience he has. He’s fought a lot of great fighters. I think he’s more of himself right now,” said David Benavidez to Ring Champs, picking Devin Haney to defeat WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. on November 22.
Benavidez Playing It Safe
It’s got to be tough for Benavidez. He’s sharing the November 22nd card with Haney, and the two are also being discussed for a fight in the same event in early 2026 in Saudi Arabia. The last thing you’d want to do if you’re Benavidez is to downgrade Devin and create a poisonous atmosphere with those two events.
PTSD Talk
It would be interesting to know what ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez’s real views are about his chances against Norman Jr. The way Haney ran around the ring in his last fight against Jose Ramirez has to have caught his attention. How can you ignore that? Tim Bradley says he believes Haney has PTSD from the traumatic experience he went through against Ryan Garcia in 2024.
“He’s able to utilize more of his power, more of his conditioning, and more of his speed,” Benavidez said about Haney. “I haven’t really seen Brian Norman. I seen that he knocked some guy [Jin Sasaki] out, the Japanese guy, but as far as opponents, Devin Haney is miles ahead of him,” said Benavidez
Norman’s Power Threat
Haney has beaten several good older fighters who were on the downsides of their careers. It doesn’t matter what he did in the past, as he’s fighting at 147 against what many boxing fans view as the hardest puncher in the division. What Devin did in the past won’t save him if he can’t handle Norman’s punching power.
“I don’t like how people downplay Devin Haney because he has so many great fighters on his resume. A lot of great fighters. He’s had great fights, and he’s beaten all of them. I don’t think it’s going to be easy,” said Benavidez about Haney winning.
David is going a little overboard with his praise of Devin because he certainly lost to Ryan Garcia. Many fans believe he was gifted a decision over Vasily Lomachenko in 2023, and he’s by far the best fighter Haney has fought. He had a considerable size and a youth advantage over Loma. It still wasn’t enough. The judges gave it to him, but it didn’t look like he won.
Written by Ken Woods, Ringside Boxing Analyst covering world title fights since 2018.
Last Updated on 10/15/2025
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