BRIAN Norman Jr will defend his WBO welterweight title against Devin Haney in a Riyadh Season event in November.
The news came broke just before 4.30pm GMT today and was posted on X by boxing’s biggest dealmaker Turki Alalshikh.
Norman is just 10 days removed from a second successive title defence which ended in a fifth-round knockout against Jin Sasaki in Japan. The Georgia native travelled to Tokyo as a heavy favourite but was expected to face a tough challenge against the pressure-fighting Japanese contender. Instead, Norman showed a gulf in class between champion and challenger and finished the fight in ruthless fashion.
Haney, a former undisputed lightweight champion and WBC super-lightweight titlist, made a move towards the welterweight division by fighting at 143lbs last time out. His points win over Jose Carlos Ramirez was met with criticism due to the lack of action in the ring at the unique Times Square setting. Haney’s father took to social media last week to call Norman out for a fight against his son and now he has his wish.
Boxing News recently interviewed Norman and asked him about Haney’s challenge which was to be the same deal offered to him to fight Jaron Ennis. The Philadelphian recently became unified welterweight champion but looks set to move to super-welterweight in the coming months.
“Yes, [I will take the same deal that I wanted to fight Ennis to fight Devin Haney].
“What did Deebo [Devin Haney] get hit with [against Ryan Garcia]? That boy got hit with a brick, and y’all know what I carry in these hands, right?
‘We have just got to see what happens in the future regarding that fight, but I am down for anything,” he added.
