Devin Haney put on an outstanding display to dethrone Brian Norman Jr of his WBO world welterweight title on Saturday night.
The 27-year-old from California dropped Norman in the second round of their Saudi Arabia clash before he was given the nod on all three of the judges cards, which read 114-113, 116-111 and 117-110 in favour of ‘The Dream’.
Despite receiving criticism for his recent performances against Ryan Garcia and Jose Ramirez, Haney was able to prove his doubters wrong against Norman to become a world champion in a third weight class.
Whilst he extended his unbeaten record to 33-0 with that win over his countryman, ‘The Dream’ was actually beaten by Garcia back in April 2024 before the loss was chalked off after it was revealed that ‘King Ry’ had tested positive for a banned substance.
In response to Haney’s win on Saturday night, Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya appeared to take a swipe at ‘The Dream’ after he posted a highlight video of the bout between Haney and ‘King Ryan’, which shows the newly-crowned welterweight champion hitting the canvas on three occasions.
Congratulations Devin Haney pic.twitter.com/U8O0zQPvsB
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) November 23, 2025
Garcia was initially declared the winner via majority decision when he clashed with Haney at the Barclays Center in New York City, although it was announced just weeks later that the result had been overturned and ‘King Ry’ had been served with a one-year suspension and a fine of over $1 million.
A rematch was touted between the pair but it is yet to come to fruition, with Garcia having lost in his return bout against Rolly Romero back in May, but despite that defeat he now appears set to challenge WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios in his next outing. If all goes to plan for each man, a unification rematch may be on the road ahead.
