‘Stick to your game vs. Norman Jr.

Devin Haney’s old sparring partner Elijan Flores believes he can dethrone WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. if he “stick to his game” to use his hit-and-run strategy for their fight on November 22, 2025.

That strategy has worked for Haney (32-0, 16 KOs) throughout most of his career, except for his fight against Ryan Garcia. Flores says he needs to go back to that approach and Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) force to adjust. He assumes Haney will be able to put space between him and 24-year-old Norman Jr. going the entire 12-round fight without getting caught, and laid out like Norman’s last victim, Jin Sasaki on June 19.

“Stick to His Game” Blueprint

“Haney has a chance to win if he sticks to his game. The Ryan fight; it wasn’t his game. I feel like with less movement and more angles, I feel like Devin will do better as far as fighting goes,” said Elijah Flores. MillCity Boxing about what Devin Haney needs to do for him to have a chance to beat.

The Ryan Garcia memory

The Ryan fight was actually Devin’s game. He was initially hurt in the first round when he tried to grab Garcia in a clinch. The excessive holding that Haney does in his fights is 100% part of his game, but usually his opponents just let it happen.

What he didn’t realize was that Ryan caught him with his short left hooks when he was about to latch onto him. This is how Devin was constantly hurt in their fight last year in April 2020. If Norman Jr. studied how he can catch Haney with a big shot, this is the way to do it. Haney’s clinch became a permanent part of his game, and he couldn’t be taken away without breaking him as a fighter.

“I think if Brian catches him with a good shot, and he feels that power and that power, he’s going to be on that bike. Who’s going to adjust?. If Haney goes on that bike and keeps him on the outside and does well on it, how can Brian adjust to that?” Flores said.

If and when Norman Jr. Catching Devin with a good shot, he’s definitely going to get on his bike for the rest of the fight if he’s still up. He’s not going to take a chance on getting caught again and looking even worse than he did in his three-shot loss to Ryan Garcia last year on April 20, 2024.

Norman Jr. ‘s hunting instinct

The only adjustments that will be made are for Norman Jr. He will learn and adapt to the movement that Haney will use. He will hunt him, catch him, and bag him in that order. Norman Jr. has a wolfish way about him inside the ring with the way he tracks down his prey. Haney’s run will tap into that instinct in Brian Jr.

Flores got the right idea for Haney by recommending that he use “less movement” and focus on “more angles.”

Going by how former two-division world champion Devin looked against Jose Ramirez on May 2, it’s doubtful he’ll be willing to take his old sparring partner’s advice. He looked in panic mode in the 12-round fight against Ramirez, never getting comfortable at any point in the contest.

Even in the final seconds of the fight, Haney had a look of terror. He didn’t want to get hit for anything. Ramirez isn’t even a big puncher. So, unless Devin got a brain transplant or found a time machine to bring back the pre-Ryan Garcia fight version of himself, he’s not going to take any chances on November 22nd.

Bottom Lines: Haney will be forced to fight

Devin will be on the run from the start and hopes that the judges will give more weight to his jabs over the power shots with Norman Jr. will strike him wherever he can catch a glimpse of him. If Haney didn’t stand and fight, he wasn’t going to survive long against this wolf.