Boxing
BrianNorman Jr. may be overtrained
Published
5 months agoon
Coach Greg Hackett says he believes Brian Norman Jr. he may be trained before the fight with Devin Haney, which will take place on November 22.
Too much work, too soon
Hackett notes that this is the first time WBO welterweight champion Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KO) faced a high-level fighter. He believes that he put in too much work in the month before the fight and considers Brian Jr. for being “over-prepared” for combat.
If Norman Jr. will be overtrained, his strength will still be quite formidable since he doesn’t look massive for the 147-pound weight class. Of the two, Haney (32-0, 16 KO) has a better chance of losing weight because he looks bigger than his middleweight sparring partner, Troy Isley. Devin looks like he weighs over 160, making him a super middleweight.
Haney vs. Norman Jr. will take place on November 22, 2025 in a 12-round main support at the ANB Arena in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN PPV.
“The best solution for Norman is a physical fight. Trying to beat Devin Haney, it’s not going to work,” said coach Greg Hackett MillCity Boxing about what Brian Norman Jr. is facing. in a fight with boxing champion Devin Haney.
Norman Jr. he doesn’t make his fights “physical” the way other fighters do. He doesn’t bunny punch, push, wrestle or hit below the belt to win. The way he wins is by hitting every shot tough, applying pressure and forcing his opponents into fights.
Coach Hackett sounds like he’s never watched Norman Jr. fight before. He confused him with other fighters who rely on “physical” fighting.
“Skill set. Devin Haney is just a much better boxer than Norman. He could have gone in there unprepared because he was overprepared,” Hackett said of Norman. “Norman has to be a tenacious dog. He’s tough, he’s mean, but that doesn’t always win fights. This will be a challenge for Norman,” Hackett said.
First real test in 147
There is no doubt that Devin has better skills than Norman Jr. What Coach Hackett fails to mention is that this is Haney’s first real fight at 147 pounds at full weight against a true welterweight. He made his debut in the division earlier this year on May 2, 2025 against former WBC and WBO welterweight champion Jose Ramirez at the 144-pound catchweight.
Olly Campbell’s conclusion: One tidy shot could end Haney’s debut
On November 22, Haney will make his welterweight debut in the true sense of the word against Norman Jr., who many believe is the greatest fighter in the division. Brian Jr. he will test his chin and if he doesn’t get stronger from the Ryan Garcia fight, he will be knocked out. Let’s hope it’s not a stretcher job where Haney leaves the ring in a prone position. If so, it would be a lesson to fighters that they must choose who they fight in their 147-pound debut.
If Haney stays out of range, striking and moving all night long, he will beat Norman Jr. This won’t be a fight like Haney’s last three wins over these fighters: Jose Ramirez, Regis Prograis and Vasily Lomachenko. They were all players in their early 30s and didn’t have the power that 24-year-old Norman Jr. has.
It will be hard for Devin to box for 12 rounds without getting caught. The likelihood that Haney won’t be marked tough enough to knock him down or stun him is low. As of 2021, his punch resistance is too tender as he suffered injuries in fights against the following fighters:
- Jorge Linares – 2021
- Vasily Lomachenko – 2023
- Ryan Garcia – 2024
Haney was feeling good in his last fight against the 33-year-old Ramirez, but he was fighting a tardy fighter who wasn’t throwing punches. Ramirez looked like he put minimal effort into cutting off the ring. His movements showed little urgency.
Last update: 22/10/2025
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Boxing
Tyson Fury doubts whether the judges will give him victory over Oleksandr Usyk
Published
16 minutes agoon
March 11, 2026
“I won the third fight,” Fury told Gareth A. Davies. “But the thing is, I know if he gets up at the end of the fight, I’m not going to make a decision. For me, it’s like, I might as well give him the fight before we even start boxing. Give him a W and I’ll give him an L.”
Usyk defeated Fury twice in 2024 in hard-fought championship fights that decided the undisputed heavyweight title. The Ukrainian’s victories transformed the division and left Fury trying to rebuild momentum in the final stage of his career.
When the discussion turned to the scoring of these fights, Fury made it clear that he still viewed the outcome differently from the official verdicts.
“And like I said, I thought I won that fight,” Fury said. “But you know what he did? That’s someone else’s opinion again.”
Fury’s comments suggest that from his perspective the debate surrounding these fights remains unresolved. Instead of treating the defeats as decisive setbacks, the former champion still doubts whether a third meeting would have produced a different outcome on the scorecards.
This lingering doubt keeps the trilogy discussion alive even as the heavyweight landscape moves forward with other matchups. Fury has talked about returning to winning form and then fighting main fights again, but his comments show that the controversy surrounding Usyk’s decision has not abated.
For Fury, the conclusion remains the same: if he doesn’t stop Usyk, he doubts the judges would award him the victory.
Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist covering this sport since 2014, providing reports from the ring and technical analyzes of the most essential fights. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments and the details that shape high-level competition.
Boxing
The 0-40 with 36 KO heavyweight division returns under a up-to-date name, now 0-43
Published
2 hours agoon
March 10, 2026
World Boxing News first reported on Dominican fighter Alexis Rafael Castillo Sanchez after he set one of the most remarkable records in current boxing by losing his first 40 professional fights, 36 of them by knockout.
At that point, it seemed like the story was over. Castillo Sanchez’s career appeared to be over in 2018 after a long string of losses that spanned over a decade in the sport.
However, official fight records show that the boxer later returned to the ring under a completely different name in his 40s.
Since then, Castillo Sanchez has competed as Alexis de la Cruz Shephard, adding three more attacks to improve a record that was 0-40 when the case was first reviewed by WBN.
All three bouts ended in consecutive stoppage defeats, bringing the overall score to 0-43, with 39 losses by knockout.
For two of these latter defeats, there are no confirmed match stoppage details in the official records, meaning the exact moment or method of the knockout was never formally documented.
Name change
The change makes the situation even more unusual.
The boxer, previously known as Alexis Rafael Castillo Sanchez, has appeared on recent fight lists as Alexis de la Cruz Shephard, which is a significant change from the name under which he was recorded earlier in his career.
World Boxing News determined the career continued after reviewing opponents’ recent records, where matching biographical details ultimately revealed the same fighter was competing again years after the original report.
Latest fights
The three additional fights occurred between 2022 and 2024, during which time Shephard was competing between the ages of 45 and 47, according to records.
In April 2022, Shephard lost by TKO to Dario Duran Gonzalez in Moncion. Four months later, he returned to Monte Plata, where he suffered another defeat in the second round against Emille Gonzalez Lopez.
His last appearance was on December 18, 2024 in Santo Domingo, where Shephard was stopped in the opening round by Omar Alexander Rivera Cerda after suffering a shoulder injury.
Each fight followed a familiar pattern from the earlier part of his career, which had already seen dozens of early finals.
An extraordinary record
When WBN first considered the case, Castillo Sanchez’s record was already distinguished by the huge number of losses due to stoppages and the length of the series.
The fighter started his career in 2007 and competed in many weight classes before finally moving up to heavyweight.
During this period, he faced a wide range of opponents, from first-time prospects to seasoned professionals, rarely lasting beyond the early rounds.
Additional fights recorded under the pseudonym Alexis de la Cruz Shephard extended this streak even further, creating one of current boxing’s strangest records.
Time will tell if his career will last beyond 0-43.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
Boxing
Rolly Romero only sees one winner in Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao 2
Published
2 hours agoon
March 10, 2026
WBA welterweight world champion Rolando Romero presented his prediction for Floyd Mayweather’s rematch with Manny Pacquiao.
Two pound-for-pound legends will face off at the Sphere in Las Vegason September 19, and their second meeting was the highlight of a live event on Netflix.
Their first meeting, which ended with Mayweather winning by unanimous decision, took place in 2015 and became the most lucrative boxing gala of all time.
By then, former multi-division world champions were already considered to be past their prime, and Pacquiao in particular no longer had the speed and ferocity for which he had always been known.
It must be admitted, however, that the Filipino has played eight professional matches since their first meeting, and his last assignment was in July against Mario Barrios.
And despite a nearly four-year layoff following his loss to Yordenis Ugas, Pacquiao was able to hold a controversial draw against the then-WBC welterweight champion.
Meanwhile, Mayweather hasn’t fought professionally since a 10th-round victory over Conor McGregor in 2017, but his dominant victory over “Pac Man” more than two years earlier led many to predict a similar result in the rematch.
One of them is Romero, who told “The Last Stand” podcast. that he cannot see Pacquiao, at the age of 47, making any drastic changes to his original performance.
“Floyd wins. And whatever happens, happens. It was meant to be. Whoever God wants to win, will win.”
“But what would be the difference [to] first fight? Was there really anything else Pacquiao could have had? [done]?”
Mayweather, now 49, has competed in a series of exhibition matches since his victory over McGregor, but now he is preparing to put his 50-0 record on the line.
Tyson Fury doubts whether the judges will give him victory over Oleksandr Usyk
The 0-40 with 36 KO heavyweight division returns under a up-to-date name, now 0-43
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