Promoter Eddie Hearn said he was not impressed with Devin Haney’s performance in his win over WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. last Saturday night in their main support bout at Turki Alalshikh’s event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
Hearn said Bill Haney wasn’t happy with him calling Devin’s performance “boring,” but he said he was being honest. He says Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) looks like a fighter who doesn’t want to “get involved,” and he’s “not good to look at.”
Turki’s silent disapproval
Haney did the bare minimum, throwing only a handful of punches in the entire 12-round fight, spending most of the time beating Norman Jr. to grasp and hold. Turki folded his arms during Haney’s performance and looked unhappy with what he was watching.
There were long stretches during the Haney-Norman Jr. match with no action, mostly because Haney held and wrestled Norman whenever he reached inside. In Devin’s fight against Ryan Garcia, he hit with Kingry’s trademark short left.
Why Norman Jr. Easy was to suffocate
Norman Jr. does not possess the same quick-release left hook. So, Haney was able to grab and hold him repeatedly to nullify his offense. With the money Haney was paid for the fight, he provided very little entertainment.
“No,” said promoter Eddie Hearn The pounding ground when asked if he was impressed with Devin Haney’s performance last Saturday night against Brian Norman Jr. “Bill (Haney), they’re not happy with me because I said it was boring. How boring was it?
Devin’s No-Engagement Style
“I said on the air, I give Devin respect. He became a three-division champion, but it is not good to look. He doesn’t want to get involved at all. I’m not dating him. I’m just being honest. He doesn’t seem like a guy who really wants to be there. Well done to him,” Hearn said.
It was asking for trouble to have Haney in the co-feature after his last lackluster performance against Jose Ramirez on May 2, 2025. It’s unclear what Turki expected from Haney after that effort. But he should know by now, this is the kind of thing he’s going to see from him.
Style that turns fans off
It would be good if Devin’s fights were buried on the lead-in away from the main card. But for him to be the co-feature, that’s the kind of performances we’re going to see from him. He clinched even when he fought Ryan Garcia. This is not new behavior from him. He’s been fighting like this for ages, and it’s a waste of airtime to have a fighter who’s going to hold or run for 12 rounds.
Turki wants to save boxing to make it mainstream like it was during the Muhammad Ali era. It’s not going to work if he loads his cards with fighters that don’t align with what fans want to see. It’s not just Haney who gives boring performances.
Shakur Stevenson is the same way, and to a certain extent so is Terence Crawford. Turki used all three on his occasions. So far, none of them have looked impressive in their fights since he started using it for his cards in 2024.
Hearn’s “No comment” says a lot
“No comment,” a smiling Hearn said when asked what Turki Alalshikh thought of Haney’s performance against Norman Jr.
When told that Turki said of ‘Tom and Jerry,’ Hearn continued to smile and said, “No comment.”
Last updated on 23/11/2025
