Devin Haney says his fight with WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. will show if he can “punch harder” in the full weight class at 147 pounds on November 22 at the ANB Arena in Riyad.

Haney (32-0, 16 KO) sounded confident during an interview this week when talking about how his fight with Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KO) will allow him to prove the doubters wrong. They think he can’t punch and he can’t make a shot.

Haney doubters point out that Ryan Garcia and Jorge Linares have hurt him multiple times. 24-year-old Norman Jr. he is bigger and stronger than those players. He is also a deadly performer when hurting his opponent. So if Haney gets injured, he won’t be able to get out of trouble like he did against Ryan and Linares.

The question of power returns

“They say I can’t punch. Now, at 147, we’ll see. We’ll see if I can hit harder and take hits better,” Devin Haney said on Ariel Helwani’s channel YouTube. “That’s why this fight is so vital to me, because they say I can’t block a left hook.”

Six years without downtime

People say Haney can’t punch because the reality is he can’t. He has Rate 46.88% ORand hasn’t scored a knockout in six years, since he defeated Zaur Abdullaev in the fourth round of the event September 13, 2019. Since then, Haney hasn’t knocked out anyone in his last 10 fights. It’s quite a arid period. Surely if Devin had the power, he would have shown it over the last six years, right?

The weight Haney has put on this camp probably won’t give him enough power to be a knockout threat. Attempting to knock out Norman Jr. would be risky for Haney as he would have to stay still to sit on his punches. That’s a risky move against a knockout artist like Brian Jr.

If Haney beats his middleweight sparring partner, Troy Isley (15-0, 5 KO), during this camp, it doesn’t mean anything because he himself lacks power.

Why Haney’s style won’t save him

“We saw him take a guy down in Brian Norman’s last fight [Jin Sasaki] frigid left hook. They say I can’t take a punch. We have a guy who is powerful and can hit. From what they say, he’s my kind of kryptonite,” Devin said.

It’s not really about Norman Jr. was wrong about Haney’s fighting style. Rather, the point is that Norman Jr. is too powerful for him because his resistance to blows is not on par with someone at his power level.

There are certain fighters that a fighter with a frail jaw like Haney shouldn’t fight. Put Devin with a ponderous, elderly guy like Jose Ramirez or Regis Prograis and he’s in his element. But if you compare Haney to Ryan Garcia or Norman Jr., it falls apart. It will evaporate on impact. This is the reality.

“That’s why this fight is so vital to me, because I want to turn non-believers into believers and prove the doubters and non-believers wrong,” Haney said.

Can Haney handle the real power?

This fight will likely cement the fact that Devin doesn’t belong at 147 pounds and should stay away from anyone in power for the rest of his career. His father, Bill Haney, did a good job maneuvering him. However, in this case, he is the wrong type of player for Haney.

For Haney, after November 22, it doesn’t have to mean the end of the world. Bill just needs to refocus by staying away from these players:

• Ryan Garcia
• Rolando “Rolly” Romero
• Lewis Crocker
• Gary Antuanne Russell
• Teofimo Lopez
• Ernesto Mercado
• Keyshawn Davis
• Liam Paro
• Subriel Matias
• Shakhram Giasov

Tom Galm: Reality awaits in Riyad

On November 22, he will reveal what awaits Devin’s survival in the treacherous waters at the age of 147, as he must face the many shark-like predators that will hunt him. Norman Jr. again. is just one of many ponderous hitters in the welterweight division.

His destruction of weight will be a clear sign that Devin needs to return to his original weight of 140, and possibly even 135. It would make no sense to remain at 147 if he was massacred by Norman Jr., as many boxing fans predict.