Ellis Warns Haney’s Extra Muscle Could Backfire Vs Norman Jr

By Graham Ilford: Trainer Kenny Ellis says the extra muscle that Devin Haney is “putting on at one time” for his fight with WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. might give him a “little bit” more energy for their November 22nd fight.

Too Much Muscle, Too Fast?

Kenny says the extra muscle weight might not give Haney (32-0, 16 KOs) the energy that he needs to win because he’s putting it on in one camp rather than slowly building up. In terms of weight, he says Haney is cutting down less weight, as he’d already weighed above 147, even when he campaigned at 135.

He would look huge after rehydrating for his fights at lightweight against naturally smaller fighters, like Vasily Lomachenko, George Kambosos Jr., Jorge Linares, and Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Ellis is picking Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) to be victorious in his defense against the former two-division world champion Haney on November 22nd in their co-feature fight on DAZN PPV at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He believes that Norman Jr’s power is going to play a part in this contest, because there’s going to be exchanges between them. Haney can’t move for 12 rounds without having to exchange with Brian Jr. That’s where Kenny predicts he’ll get in trouble because Norman Jr. has power in both hands.

Not Really Moving Up in Weight

“He’s not moving up in weight. He’s just cutting less because he always walks around heavier than 147. Instead of cutting down to 135, he’s cutting down to 147,” said coach Kenny Ellis to MillCity Boxing about Devin Haney not really moving up in weight in his first fight at the limit of the welterweight division against WBO champion Brian Norman Jr. on November 22.

Many fans felt in the past that Haney should have been fighting at welterweight three years ago when he was at lightweight, and he looked humongous after dropping down to 135. He looked skeletal and zombie-like at the weigh-ins.

Middleweight on Fight Night

Welterweight is where he should have always been. It will be interesting to see how Devin performs now that he’s at the full 147-lb weight, although he won’t be weighing that on November 22nd. He’ll likely be in the 160s after rehydrating.

Devin will be a full-fledged middleweight in size on the night and have a significant weight advantage over Norman Jr. He’ll look massive inside the ring.

Why Norman Jr. Has the Edge

“He might have a bit more energy. But then again, he’s putting on so much muscle at one time that he might have less energy because he’s going to need it,” said Ellis about Haney. “I like to lean toward the puncher. Now, if Devin were a boxer-puncher, it would be different. But in this case, he’s just a boxer.”

Veteran boxing columnist Graham Ilford brings dry humor and long-earned perspective to the sport.