Devin Haney Accused of Ducking Brian Norman Jr. with Preemptive “Price” Comments

Fans are roasting Devin Haney on social media for predicting that Brian Norman Jr. will “price himself out” for a possible fight for his WBO welterweight title. Haney says Norman Jr. is using his name for clout to attract interest in his fight this Thursday night in Tokyo, Japan, against Jin Sasaki.

Fans See Haney’s Excuse

People see this as a way for Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) to weasel out of fighting Norman Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs) by coming up with a preemptive excuse before any attempt at negotiations. It would be a dangerous fight for Devin if he were to take it because Norman Jr. is young at 24, and a big puncher with either hand.

Brian Jr. is not like the shopworn Jose Ramirez that Haney defeated in his much-criticized performance last May at Times Square in New York City. If this were Ryan Garcia, Haney wouldn’t be predicting him pricing himself out as a way to get out of fighting him. He would be pushing for the fight. It shows how different Haney would act if it were a fight that he wanted.

Devin should fight Brian Norman Jr. because if he could get his hands on his WBO welterweight title, it would make him a three-division world champion, and it would create more fan interest in the rematch with Kingry. Norman Jr. hits too hard and has a reputation for being dangerous after the way he destroyed his last two opponents, Derrieck Cuevas and Giovani Santillan.

Haney’s comment about Norman Jr. fits in with how he’s behaved since moving up to 140. He’s ignored the potential high-risk fights against Gary Antuanne Russell, Subriel Matias, Liam Paro, and Richardson Hitchins. The two fighters Haney fought at 140 were Ryan Garcia and 36-year-old Regis Prograis. He was the favorite in both of those fights.

Hitchins is trying to fight him next, but it’s doubtful it can happen now that he’s announced that he’s a free agent. To get Haney interested in a fight against Hitchins, it would require a big purse. Hitchins has no fan base and can’t sell tickets. So, without Turki Alalshikh, a fight between them won’t happen.