Devin Haney says he’s going to show that he’s “levels above” Brian Norman Jr. when he challenges him for his WBO welterweight title in 83 days on November 22nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Haney made the same “levels above” phrase ahead of his fight against Ryan Garcia last year on April 20, 2024, and that clash didn’t work out well for him. He’s recycling the phrase for Norman Jr.’s fight.
Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) states that his superior experience as a professional places him above the younger, less experienced 24-year-old Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs), who hasn’t faced the opposition like the ones Devin has fought.
Norman Jr. will defend against the former two-division world champion Haney on the undercard of David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde on DAZN PPV at the ANB Arena in Riyadh.
Haney’s Levels Above Claim
“I’m going to show that I’m levels above him. I’ve been fighting these guys at the top level, the best of the best fighters in the top level for some time now,” said Devin Haney to Ring Magazine, talking about his view that he’s more experienced against high-level opposition than WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr.
Haney has fought one excellent opponent in his 10-year professional career, Vasily Lomachenko. The other “best fighters” that Devin is alluding to are of moderate quality due to flaws in their game or age.
Haney’s Best Opponents
- Vasily Lomachenko
- Ryan Garcia
- Jose Ramirez
- George Kambosos Jr
- Regis Prograis
- Jorge Linares
- Yuriorkis Gamboa
- Joseph Diaz Jr.
- Alfredo Santiago
- Zaur Abdullaev
- Antonio Moran
- Juan Carlos Burgos
- Mason Menard
The picture that Haney is painting is of Norman Jr., who isn’t in the same galaxy as him, experience-wise and talent-wise, ahead of their November 22nd fight. It’s unclear if he actually believes it.
The Mental Game Begins
If this is just a move by Devin to create self-doubt in Norman Jr’s mind to make him unwilling to throw punches and attack, it’s worth a try. On paper, this is a difficult fight for Haney due to Norman’s power, aggression, youth, and hunger. He hasn’t made the money that Haney has, which would make him one of the ultra-wealthy class.
Devin has more experience against better opposition than Norman Jr. There’s no question about that. However, only one of his fights took place at welterweight, and that was against former light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez. He’s late in his career at 33, and had lost his previous fight against Arnold Barboza Jr. by a 10-round unanimous decision on November 16, 2024.
“I’m the first guy at the top that he’s fought. I genuinely don’t know one person that he’s beat,” said Haney about Norman Jr.
Norman’s Five Last Opponents
- Jin Sasaki
- Derrieck Cuevas
- Giovani Santillan
- Janelson Figueroa Bocachica
- Quinton Randall
“That’s why we took the fight, because we think Norman will knock out Haney. Who is the fighter that Haney knocked out? He hasn’t had a knockout in a long time,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to Sean Zittel’s channel.
It’s been six years since Haney last stopped an opponent when he defeated Zaur Abdullaev by a fourth-round stoppage on September 13, 2019. That was 10 fights ago. If Haney can’t knock out Norman Jr., he could be in for a long night. Devin would have to move and hold for 12 rounds like he did in his fights against Jose Ramirez and George Kambosos Jr.
The No-Movement Mandate
With Haney-Norman Jr. on Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season card on November 22nd, Turki’s no-Tom-and-Jerry mandate will be in effect for that fight. It would be a bad idea for Haney to turn in a similar Jerry-esque performance that he did on Turki’s event earlier this year on May 2, 2025, at Times Square in New York.
Fans widely criticized Haney’s performance for the amount of movement he showed. They created short sped-up clips of Haney running around the ring, not throwing punches, and looking timid.
“It’s very dangerous for Haney; he still doesn’t have a chin like Ryan Garcia. Haney, maybe he can run all night, but the thing is it’s about chin,” said former three-division world champion Jorge Linares on X, questioning Devin’s punch resistance going into his fight against Norman Jr.
Last Updated on 08/31/2025
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