Norman Jr. Vows To Put Haney “In The Dirt” With KO In Riyadh

Brian Norman Jr. is vowing to put Devin Haney “in the dirt,” guaranteeing that he’s going to KO him on Saturday, November 22nd, in their chief support bout at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. WBO welterweight champion Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) says there is no “if” he knocks out Haney (32-0, 16 KOs). It’s when he does it.

Devin looked nervous during his DAZN Boxing face-off with Norman Jr., stuttering and coming unglued when the Georgia native calmly told him he would use a victory against him to make a name for himself.

“No If — When”: KO Certainty

“The real fans come in after Saturday when I put this boy in the dirt. There is no such thing as ‘if.’ I am going to do that,” said Brian Norman Jr. to Boxing News, guaranteeing that he’s going to knock out Devin Haney on Saturday night. “Where does this put me afterward? The world is mine.

“This is pain coming. KO demolition job,” said Norman Jr. when asked how his fight with Haney plays out on Saturday.

Haney’s Chin: Still Broken?

It doesn’t sound good for Haney that Norman Jr. is promising “pain” and a “demolition job” for their co-feature fight in Riyadh. If Devin’s punch resistance hasn’t improved since his fight against Ryan Garcia in April 2024, he’s not going to last long against the WBO welterweight champion Norman Jr. on Saturday.

Ryan Rematch in Jeopardy

There’s a lot at stake for Haney in this fight. He’s got the Ryan Garcia rematch that is in the pipeline for 2026, as well as a possible huge payday against Conor Benn. If he gets knocked out by Norman Jr., it’s unlikely that Turki Alalshikh would choose to make those. He would likely focus on arranging fights between Norman Jr., Ryan, and Benn. Haney’s career would be on thin ice.

It’ll be interesting to see if Turki wants to still go ahead with a Haney vs. Ryan Garcia rematch, with Devin coming off a KO loss to Norman Jr. There would still be interest from fans in that fight due to the drama involved after the first fight with Garcia’s positive PED test wiping out his win.

Muddying the Water to Survive

What would be key to making that fight happen would be for Haney to come up with a good excuse for why he lost to Norman Jr. If he can muddy the water enough to lessen the impact of the defeat, fans would be willing to overlook it.

First-Round Warning Shot

“What I want to show in the first round is that you are in for it. People want to know how hard I hit. Just know that it’s a million times harder. I’m going to introduce you do that in the very first round. So you got to go back to your corner and say, ‘I’ve got 12 rounds to deal with that,’” said Norman Jr.

If Norman Jr. connects with anything significant in the first round against Haney, he may hit the deck. Two of the right-hand shots that he hit Jin Sasaki with in the first round would be difficult for Devin to take without going down. Sasaki showed a good chin, lasting until the fifth round before Norman Jr. knocked him out cold with a left hook in their fight on June 19, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan.

“So, go back to my Derrieck Cuevas fight. I made him quit after a jab. He got touched with something that made him change his mind,” said Norman Jr.

The power jab that Norman Jr. used against Cuevas sent him stumbling into the ropes in round two. In the third round, Norman Jr. hit Cuevas with a combination and finished with a power jab, sending him to the canvas.

A Rare Reach Disadvantage for Haney

If Haney chooses to keep the fight at a distance on Saturday, he’s going to have to deal with Norman Jr’s jab because he’s got a one-inch reach advantage. This is a rare instance in Haney’s career in which he’s facing someone with a longer reach than him and a better jab.