Bradley flips the pick and backs Haney to Outbox Norman Jr.

Tim Bradley has changed his predictions from previously favoring WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. to beat Devin Haney in a main support fight on November 22 in Riyadh.

Tim says Haney (32-0, 16 KOs) can execute a “defense-first” strategy to mentally wear down Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) to win a points decision on the scorecards.

Hani’s defensive plan

• a movement
• Tricks
• Dictate the pace
• Circuit control center

Bradley believes Haney can keep the action in the center of the ring and not let Norman Jr. trap him on the ropes. Using movement will prevent Norman Jr. from sitting on his shots to generate power.

“He’s going to be a type-A defensive battle,” Tim Bradley said. “He’s going to try to burn Brian Norman out mentally with pre-conference scrimmages, with movement, but he’s going to be responsible defensively. He knows Norman is going to be very strong early.” channell, I’m talking about the Devin Haney vs. Brian Norman Jr. match on November 22nd.

Norman Jr. doesn’t fade easily

The problem with Bradley’s analysis is that Norman Jr. showed no signs of fatigue in the later rounds. He doesn’t fade late and lose steam like some fighters. If you look at Norman’s fights against Giovanni Santillan and Quinton Randall, he was still hitting hard in the later rounds. Some of the shots that hit both fighters would be devastating for Hani.

“If Devin Haney wins this fight, he should be placed on the pound-for-pound list. He joins Shakur Stevenson with three belts in three weight classes,” Bradley said.

Devin must be involved in convincing the judges

For Haney to win, he will need to clash against Norman Jr., as he will not win the decision by running back like he did against Jose Ramirez on the Riyadh Hunt card earlier this year on May 2. Norman Jr. will chase him down and hit hard to impress the judges.

It would be impossible for Haney to win a decision if he was moving, striking and holding frequently. This is the strategy Devin used in his two fights against George Kambosos Jr. and his fights against Regis Prograis and Jose Ramirez. These guys are not in the same league in terms of strength as Norman Jr.

The judges will be more impressed with Norman’s powerful punches, and will give him a shout every round. That’s assuming Haney doesn’t collapse at some point in the fight.

Written by Ken Woods, a Ringside boxing analyst who has been covering world title fights since 2018.