The intriguing welterweight showdown Brian Norman Jr and Devin Haney has been made official.
Norman is set to make the latest defence of his WBO world welterweight title against the former undisputed lightweight champion on Saturday November 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Haney is set to make his official debut at 147lbs against Norman, having spent his recent years at lightweight and super-lightweight. He made his most recent ring appearance on May 2, outpointing former unified super-lightweight champion Jose Ramirez in New York at a catch weight of 144lbs.
Norman made the second successful defence of his WBO crown in Japan last month as he sensationally knocked out Jin Sasaki in the fifth round of their bout in Tokyo. The 24-year-old from Georgia has emerged as one of the brightest stars in boxing over the last 18-months, but faces the toughest test of his career against Haney later this year.
Speaking on his own Youtube channel, former two-weight world champion Tim Bradley shared his thoughts on the upcoming match-up between Haney and Norman, where he backs the latter to get the job done by knockout.
“Woke up this morning, been studying Haney, been studying Norman Jr – hey I’m here to tell y’all right now, you Haney fans, it’s not gonna go as well as you think it’s gonna go. I think Dad, you made a mistake, you made a big mistake man, yes you did.
“Look man, all you gotta do if you want to beat Haney right, all you gotta do is let your hands go, get close and let your hands go, it’s simple, it’s not hard at all, it ain’t rocket science, don’t be sitting there and play tit for tat or sword fight with this dude, don’t sword fight with him, all you gotta do is take it to him, bring that pain.
“Boy you are going to get knocked out by a left hook, I promise you. I see the mistakes you’re making. The left hook you’re throwing is terrible. Norman will see that coming. I’m telling you, this fight is dangerous for Haney. I’m predicting a knockout win for Norman Jr, a late stoppage, he’s going to catch him, he’s going to hurt him and it’s going to be all she wrote.”
Haney had originally been pencilled in to to face former rival Ryan Garcia before plans for their rematch were squandered when Garcia lost to Rolando Romero. The 26-year-old from California now faces a big challenge against Norman, who has stopped 22 of the opponents he has faced so far.
