Devin Haney drops, disciplines Brian Norman Jr. to earn title in third division with WBO welterweight crown

Following a pair of heavily criticized performances, unbeaten Devin Haney reminded the boxing world on Saturday that his pound-for-pound pedigree still demands elite respect. 

Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) became a three-division champion by dropping and disciplining WBO welterweight titleholder Brian Norman Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) en route to a unanimous decision win inside ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the undercard of David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde. The judges scored it 114-113, 117-110 and 116-111 for Haney.

Norman, on his 25th birthday, showed good resolve after suffering a hard knockdown in Round 2 by rallying over the second half to remain competitive, particularly in the clinch, where the Atlanta-based boxer used his physicality. But this night was all about the 27-year-old Haney who, despite proving unable to close the show as his output dropped late, dominated in the middle rounds behind a sharp jab. 

After years of difficult weight cuts at 135 and 140 pounds, Haney proved he’s a much stronger fighter fully hydrated as he successfully put behind him a 2024 loss, complete with three knockdowns, to Ryan Garcia (that was later changed to a no contest when Garcia failed a post-fight drug test) and a May win over Jose Ramirez in his welterweight debut that saw Haney criticized for refusing to exchange as he boxed from the outside. 

“In 2024, I lost everything. Everything came crashing on me,” Haney said. “In 2025, I came to get it back. In 2026, I’m coming for everything.”

After a first round in which Haney, of Las Vegas, looked tentative in front of the hard-punching Norman, “The Dream” began to deal in Round 2 behind a short counter left hook that found the mark throughout and visibly rocked Norman. Haney, who bloodied the nose of Norman, followed with a stiff right cross that dropped Norman just before Haney leaned forward to taunt him on the ground. 

The knockdown kicked off a multiple round stretch in which a firmly confident Haney walked Norman down with his big jab but was never able to get his opponent into any trouble despite outclassing him. 

“[Norman] came out exactly how we planned so I was able to capitalize,” Haney said. “But after I hurt him and dropped him, he made an adjustment and I had to adjust to that as well. He’s a true champion and is better than I expected. I had to thank him for giving me the opportunity to again become champion.”

Norman began to mix up his combinations and lead with a right hand to slowly silence Haney’s jab as he worked his way back into the fight in the second half. Ultimately, the lack of experience for Norman, who was stepping up in class, caught up with him as a more conservative Haney stayed out of trouble but failed to shine late.

“[Welterweight] is the weight class that I was supposed to be at for a long time,” Haney said. “My dad was telling me it’s time to move up for a long time but there was just so much at stake at 135 and 140, but I’m here to stay at 147 for a long time.

“We are taking on all comers. It doesn’t matter who it is.”

Although both Haney, and his father/trainer/manager Bill, refused to single out a name to make his first title defense, the victory takes him one step closer to a rematch against Garcia that would be among the biggest fights the sport could produce. Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs), who followed his one-year drug suspension by losing a lifeless welterweight bout to Rolando Romero in May, is expected to challenge WBC champion Mario Barrios in January, where a win could make Haney-Garcia II a title unification.