Brian Norman Sr. says Richardson Hitchins isn’t going to fight his son, WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs), after he successfully defends against Devin Haney this Saturday, November 22nd, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He states that Hitchins will cook up some “excuses” to avoid fighting him.
The New York Excuse Angle
Norman Sr. predicts that Hitchins will say the fight must take place in his hometown of New York City, hoping that by doing so, it’ll cause Brian Jr. to lose interest. However, Norman Sr. says they’ll fight Hitchins in New York.
It’s unclear why Norman Sr. would want his son to waste a title defense on a low-level fight against Hitchins, as there wouldn’t be nearly as much interest as in fights against Conor Benn, Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, or a rematch with Haney.
“He ain’t going to fight no Brian Norman Jr. He’s just running his damn mouth. I’m telling you right now. He ain’t going to fight. He’s going to make up some s***. He’s going to say some s***,” said Brian Norman Sr. to MillCity Boxing about Richardson Hitchins choosing to come up with some excuse not to fight WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. after saying he would fight the winner of his clash against Devin Haney this Saturday.
Why Hitchins Wants Haney, Not Norman Jr.
Hitchins’ primary target is Haney, not Norman Jr. He’s been calling him out since his eighth-round technical knockout victory over George Kambosos Jr. on June 14, 2025. It’s a more winnable fight for Hitchins because Haney can’t punch and would likely be on his bike all night. Going up against Norman Jr. would involve Richardson taking a risk of being knocked out and being put on skid row.
Norman Jr. Isn’t 19 Anymore
Norman Jr. wasn’t brought up until recently. That was when Richardson started bragging about getting the better of Norman Jr. during a sparring session they had. Brian Sr. revealed that it was a “nothing” sparring session, which took place five years ago when Norman Jr. was 19. He’s now 24.
“He’s going to say, ‘No, I want to fight in New York.’ He’s going to say some s***, but we’ll fight him in New York. So, let’s make that clear. He’s going to make up some s***, but he ain’t going to fight. He don’t want to fight,” said Norman Sr. about Hitchins potentially weaseling out of a fight.
Norman Sr. Says They’re Ready for It
“Don’t worry. We got a plan for that,” said Norman Sr. when told that Devin Haney will ‘outpoint junior by jabbing and holding the whole fight.’
Haney’s Jab-and-Grab Blueprint
The way Norman Sr. brushed off the comment about Haney’s likely game plan of clinching and jabbing all night, they have a strategy in place to deal with that. What he didn’t mention was whether that plan covers the moving that Devin will likely be using.
That’s just as much of a problem as the holding that he’ll likely be doing. His last opponent, Jose Ramirez, couldn’t catch up to him most of the time in their clash earlier in 2025 on May 2nd at Times Square in New York.
On the rare occasions that Ramirez did corner Haney, he would be grabbed and held to prevent him from getting his shots off. It was frustrating to watch because there were so few punches thrown.
Haney vs. Ramirez punch stats
- Jose Ramirez – 40 of 279 punches for 14.3% connect rate
- Devin Haney – 70 of 224 for 31.3%
