Norman Jr. promises to put Haney “In The Dirt” with KO in Riyadh

Brian Norman Jr. vows to put Devin Haney “in the ground,” guarantee to KO him on Saturday, November 22, in their main support match at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. WBO welterweight champion Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) says there is no “if” he knocks out Haney (32-0, 16 KOs). That’s when he does it.

Devin appeared nervous during his DAZN Boxing face-off with Norman Jr., stuttering and coming loose as the Georgia native calmly told him he would use a win against him to make a name for himself.

“No If – When”: KO Certainty

“The real fans come in after Saturday when I put this boy in the ground. There’s no such thing as ‘ashes’.” I’m going to do it,” Brian Norman Jr. said Boxing Newswhich guarantees he’s going to knock out Devin Haney on Saturday night. “Where does that leave me afterwards? The world is mine.

“It’s pain coming. KO demolition,” Norman Jr. said. said when asked how his fight with Haney played out on Saturday.

Haney’s chin: still broken?

It doesn’t sound good to Haney that Norman Jr. “pain” and a “demolition job” promised for their co-battle in Riyadh. If Devin’s punch resistance hasn’t improved since his fight against Ryan Garcia in April 2024, he won’t last long against WBO welterweight champion Norman Jr. on Saturday. not.

Ryan Rematch in Jeopardy

There is a lot on the line for Haney in this fight. He has the Ryan Garcia rematch in the pipeline for 2026, as well as a possible big payday against Conor Benn. If he was told by Norman Jr. knocked out, it is unlikely that Turki Alalshikh would choose to make it. He will likely focus on arranging fights between Norman Jr., Ryan and Benn. Haney’s career would be on thin ice.

It will be interesting to see if Turki still wants to go ahead with a Haney vs. Ryan Garcia rematch, with Devin coming off a KO loss to Norman Jr. come. There will still be fan interest in that fight because of the drama involved after the first fight with Garcia’s positive PED test wiping out his win.

Mud the water to survive

What would be key to making that fight happen would be Haney coming up with a good excuse for why he lost to Norman Jr. If he can muddy the waters enough to lessen the impact of the loss, fans will be willing to overlook it.

First round warning shot

“What I want to show in the first round is that you’re in it. People want to know how hard I hit. Just know that it’s a million times harder. I’m going to suggest you do it in the very first round. So you have to go back to your corner and say, ‘I’ve got 12 rounds to handle this,'” Norman Jr. said.

If Norman Jr. connected with anything significant in the first round against Haney, he could hit the deck. Two of the right hands he hit Jin Sasaki with in the first round would be difficult for Devin to take without going down. Sasaki showed a good chin, which lasted until the fifth round before Norman Jr. knocked him out cold with a left hook in their fight on June 19, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.

“So, going back to my Derrieck Cuevas fight. I had him quit after a jab. He got hit with something that made him change his mind,” Norman Jr. said.

The power punch that Norman Jr. used against Cuevas, tripped him into the ropes in the second round. In the third round, Norman Jr. Cuevas hit with a combination and finished with a power punch, sending him to the canvas.

A rare reach disadvantage for Haney

If Haney chooses to keep the fight on the range on Saturday, he will have to deal with Norman Jr.’s jab because he has a one-inch reach advantage. This is a rare instance in Haney’s career of facing someone with longer reach than him and a better jab.