Haney Won’t Run, It’s ‘War In Riyadh’ (

Devin Haney’s assistant trainer, Zab Judah, says Dev is not going to be running from WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. in 46 days on November 22 at the ANB Arena in Riyadh.

Judah is helping train Haney (32-0, 16 KOs) for his risky battle against the knockout artist Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs). He insists that Haney is coming for “war” to take the WBO title and bring it back home.

Running Won’t Save Him

Haney is going to have to snap out of the shell-shocked state that he looked like he was in last time he fought. He looked nothing like the fighter he’d been in the past. What did Ryan Garcia do to him?

“Devin ain’t doing now running. He’s coming to put on a boxing exhibition. This is going to be a blowout,” said Zab Judah to MillCity Boxing. “We respect the Normans, but when you’re going to war, you can’t have no respect in war.”

If Haney isn’t going to run, this fight might not last more than two or three rounds. Ryan Garcia had Devin hurt in the first round of their fight last year on April 20. That was with Devin choosing to engage right off the bat instead of using the Jerry-esque style that he’d employed in some of his earlier fights.

Can Haney’s Chin Hold Up?

Going to war with Norman Jr. is going to leave Haney is going to put him in a position where he’s going to need his chin to hold up under the heavy bombardment.

“‘I’m coming to take.’ You got to take this s***. No more stealing. We’re taking it back. It’s a new day. We’re not talking about the past. We can’t change it,” said Zab when asked about how timid Haney looked in his last fight against Jose Ramirez on May 2, 2025. “Haney is back.”

War Nerves in New York

Devin hasn’t fought since his last performance against Ramirez at Times Square in New York. In that fight, Haney appeared to be suffering from war nerves, still mentally reliving the experience he had gone through against Ryan Garcia.

Six months may be too short a period for Devin to recover from that. That condition could last for years. If Haney isn’t all the way back by November 22nd, Norman Jr. is going to feast on him if nothing is being thrown back. Haney isn’t going to win by running around the ring like he did against Ramirez, because he’ll get quickly hunted down by Brian Jr.