Haney Must Be Perfect To Survive Brian Norman Jr.’s Power

Trainer Buddy McGirt states that Devin Haney must be perfect for him to defeat WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. in their fight on November 22 in Riyadh.

McGirt Warns of One-Punch Danger

McGirt says the former two-division world champion Haney (32-0, 16 KOs) has got to be running on “all 12 cylinders” because Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) has “one punch” power. He doesn’t need to land combinations to knock out his opponents.

Norman Jr. can wreck Haney’s career, knocking him out and finishing what Ryan Garcia started last year in the beatdown he administered to him. Despite dropping Haney three times, Ryan was unable to finish him due to his poor stamina. If Norman hurts Haney, he’s a great finisher and will likely end it quickly.

Knowing how powerful Norman Jr. is, it’s just surprising that Haney agreed to fight him. Haney must have felt some sort of way when Turki Alalshikh offered him an opponent.

Haney vs. Norman Jr. are fighting in the co-feature slot on the David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde card on November 22 at the ANB Arena in Riyadh. The event will be shown live on DAZN PPV.

Buddy McGirt’s Technical Breakdown of the Matchup

“All 12 cylinders. You’re fighting a bigger man. He has one-punch knockout power. Norman doesn’t need a combination to get you out of there,” said coach Buddy McGirt to MillCity Boxing about Devin Haney needing to be perfect when he fights Brian Norman Jr. on November 22nd. “So, Haney has to be running on all cylinders.”

Haney has little choice but to fight in the same way he did in his last contest against Jose Ramirez. He’s literally going to need to be on the run the entire fight to avoid getting clipped by Norman Jr, because this guy is a murderous puncher with either hand.

Turki Alalshikh came out with his no Tom and Jerry mandate following the Fatal Fury event on May 2, 2025, in New York. That was the one that Haney turned into a classic definition of a Jerry-esque performance by staying on the move the entire fight, trying not to get hit by the former WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Ramirez.

Devin Haney’s Tactical Keys vs. Norman Jr.

“Everything has to be on point. Offense, defense, foot movement, and head movement. Everything has to be working that night. He can’t second-guess anything. You can’t do that against a guy like Norman. He’ll wait. I seen him hit this guy, and I’m like, ‘Holy s***. Damn,’” said McGirt about Giovani Santillan.

Devin has downplayed Norman Jr’s threat level, saying he doesn’t know any of the guys he’s fought. At the same time, he’s talked about his experience against top-level fighters. Haney does have an advantage in that arena. but not that big of one. The majority of the top fighters Haney fought were past their prime. These are some of the faded fighters Devin has fought:

Jose Ramirez
Vasily Lomachenko
Yuriorkis Gamboa
Regis Prograis
Joseph Diaz
Jorge Linares
Juan Carlos Burgos

Wood’s Viewpoint: Why Haney Must Run on All Cylinders

With how fragile Devin looked against Ryan Garcia, he’s got to be near perfect for him to avoid getting caught by Norman Jr. and blasted to the Andromeda galaxy by Norman Jr. He doesn’t have the mandible to take the kinds of shots that Brian Jr. is going to be unloading on him if he stands and fights the way he did againt Vasily Lomachenko in 2023.

Haney looked rattled mentally in his last fight against Jose Ramirez, seemingly dealing with war flashbacks from the bad experience he had against Ryan. The way Devin fought against Ramirez, he’s not going to be able to pull himself together for the Norman Jr. fight.

As such, I picture Haney running all over the ring nonstop, leaving Turki Alalshikh fuming in the front row, regretting using him for this event. It’s not enough for Turki to remind the fighters not to turn in a Tom and Jerry performance. It’s just baked into Haney from the ordeal against Kingry.

Written by Ken Woods, Ringside Boxing Analyst, covering world title fights since 2018.