Boxing

Haney defeats Norman to win the WBO welterweight title

Published

12 months ago

November 22, 2025

There have been many questions surrounding Devin Haney over the past 18 months, and on Saturday he answered each of them emphatically.

Haney (33-0, 15 KO) became a three-weight world champion in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, defeating Brian Norman Jr. (28-1, 22 KO) won the WBO welterweight title by unanimous decision. The judges scored the 147-pound title fight for Haney on scores of 117-110, 116-111 and 114-113. This was Haney’s first actual appearance at 147 pounds since his last appearance fought at the catchweight 144 pounds.

The victory marked a career resurgence of sorts for Haney, who has been grappling with questions about his ability to take a punch and avoid an elite left hook and whether he can effectively make weight since dropping three times in a majority decision loss to Ryan Garcia in April 2024. The defeat was later changed to a no-contest after Garcia tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, but questions about Haney’s stamina and attitude remain unresolved.

“In 2024, I lost everything,” Haney said. “Everything collapsed on me. In 2025 I came to get it back. In 2026 I will come for everything.”

Not only has Miami’s Haney proven he’s willing to take a shot from arguably the hardest hitter in the division in Norman Jr., but he’s shown he’s also capable of challenging at this weight. In the second round, he knocked down Norman Jr. with a right hand. and never looked back. His jab led to Norman Jr. to a frenzy throughout the night, and many observers were surprised by his decision to be relentless in the pocket and effectively cut into the check.

Norman Jr., who put up a knockout of the year candidate against Jin Sasaki earlier this year, never quite caught up to Haney in terms of speed and control in the ring. He managed to have some minor success in the middle rounds in an attempt to force a more physical fight, but consistently had no answer to Haney’s jab. By the second round, his nose was badly bloody, and in the later rounds his left eye began to swell.

The victory opens up plenty of opportunities for Haney, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Monday. His father, Bill Haney, declined to name a potential fight immediately after the fight, but a rematch with Garcia would certainly be the most high-profile.

Garcia (24-2, 20 KO) has also moved up to welterweight since the Haney clash. In May, he lost to Rolando Romeroby by unanimous decision in the fight for the vacant WBA welterweight title. If Garcia won, he would likely set up a rematch with Haney.

“We welcome all comers,” Haney said. “[Welterweight] This is a weight class I’ve been meaning to be in for a long time. My dad had been telling me for a long time that I had to move. I’m here to stay at 147 pounds for a long time.”

Boxing

Robert Garcia Analyzes Tim Tszyus Odds Against Erislandy Lara | Boxing News

Published

3 hours ago

November 7, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"Robert Garcia Analyzes Tim Tszyu's Odds Against Erislandy Lara | Boxing News"

Tim Tszyu seeks to become Australia’s third multi-divisional boxing world champion when he competes for Erislandy Lara’s WBA middleweight title next month, and ahead of the action, trainer Robert Garcia has offered his thoughts on the fight.

Tszyu lost his WBO super-welterweight title in a defeat to Sebastian Fundora back in 2024 and twice failed to reclaim 154lb honours, both against Bakhram Murtazaliev and in a rematch with Fundora.

Since then, the Aussie has stepped up to middleweight and scored a career-best win over Errol Spence Jr earlier this yearand now, the 32-year-old could join lead trainer Jeff Fenech and Liam Paro as his nation’s third two-weight world champion, if he can trump 43-year-old.

Speaking with ProBox TVRobert Garcia, who trains a potential future Tszyu opponent in Vergil Ortiz, admitted that he is leaning towards the home fighter, but noted that Lara will not be phased by competing in the challenger’s backyard.

“We can probably lean towards Tim Tsyzu because he is fighting at home, in front of his hometown, but Lara is not the fighter that brings in a lot of fans following him.

“He doesn’t have a following, he is not one that is going to sell out arenas, so even if it is in the United States, it is likely that most of the people are going to be [there] for Tim Tszyu because Australians do travel and Tim Tszyu has a lot of fans.

“For Lara, going to Australia is like going to Las Vegas or going to New York because he never has that following anyways. Anywhere he goes, he is going to be against the crowd. So, I think for him it is going to be one of those performances where it doesn’t make a difference if he is going to Tim Tsyzu’s hometown.”

Tszyu-Lara takes place at the Cbus Super Stadium in Queensland, Australia on Sunday 13 December.

Boxing

Malik Scott Predicts Knockout Victory for Jai Opetaia in Upcoming Fight

Published

4 hours ago

November 7, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"Malik Scott Predicts Knockout Victory for Jai Opetaia in Upcoming Fight"

Deontay Wilder’s former head coach Malik Scott has delivered a knockout prediction for the American’s upcoming showdown with Jai Opetaia.

The pair will square off at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11, with Opetaia making his heavyweight debut on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua.

Despite him being the naturally smaller man, many are favouring the Australian – a former two-time world cruiserweight champion – to defeat his 10-years-older opponent.

It is, after all, generally accepted that Wilder has declined significantly since his trilogy bout with Furywho survived two knockdowns and scored an 11th-round knockout in their 2021 encounter.

Back then, Wilder had just joined forces with Scott, his former opponent, and the pair maintained their fighter-trainer relationship through subsequent defeats against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.

With Wilder now operating under different coaches, though, Scott has shared a balanced view of the Opetaia fight with Seconds Out.

“The fight’s got dynamite written all over it. Jai Opetaia is very dangerous, but he’s a smaller man that’s been hurt by smaller men than Deontay, slower men than Deontay.

“I’ve never seen Opetaia get hit by nobody like Deontay; I’ve seen Deontay get hit by bigger punchers than Opetaia. [But] one thing we can expect in this fight is a knockout.

“The name of the fight is ‘bad intentions’ – at least that’s what I’m calling it, because that’s what they share in common. What they share in common is mentality – they both are trying to hurt you.”

While he stopped short of predicting a winner, it is perhaps telling that Scott, despite his relationship with Wilder, has not explicitly favoured him to win by knockout.