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There’s people in the Top Rank office who are alarmed about the difficulty their WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jnr is going to experience in his November 22 title defense versus unbeaten two-division champion Devin Haney.
Yet Norman’s veteran promoter Bob Arum, who’s seen more fights than anyone on his staff, is enamored with his 24-year-old fighter from Georgia, who has trekked to Saudi Arabia to meet Haney, 32-0 (15 KOs).
“I like [Norman] to win by knockout,” Arum told BoxingScene of his 28-0 champion who’s won 22 of his fights by knockout.
“He’s beaten everyone he’s fought.”
Norman’s ability to step up to the moment and win his past three title fights by knockout confirms to Arum that he is a special talent, even if the two-years-older Haney has the benefit of a deeper resume that counts victories over future hall of famer Vasiliy Lomachenko, Jose Ramirez, Regis Prograis and George Kambosos Jnr.
Norman has shaped his credibility by going to San Diego to defeat Giovanni Santillan in his hometown and to Japan in June to dismiss Jin Sasaki via fifth-round KO.
“Not only is he a likeable, very down-to-earth kid, he’s a hard worker – exactly what you want in an athlete at this level,” Arum said.
While there’s expectation among boxing lifers that Haney will outclass Norman and perhaps take the life out of the bout as he did with his minimal-punches outing in May versus Ramirez, the oddsmakers lean toward Norman.
DraftKings lists him as a -135 favorite over +110 underdog Haney, and that’s mostly linked to the fact that the 93-year-old Arum pointed out – Norman is bringing the proverbial hammer.
While Norman’s odds to win by knockout or stoppage are +225, Haney’s odds of doing the same are +900.
Norman will conduct a workout for reporters on Thursday in Atlanta to provide an update from his training camp and discuss the Haney bout.
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