Brian Norman Jr. could face a dangerous test against Abel Ramos on the December 19 Devin Haney–Liam Paro card, with a loss threatening to undo his progress since surrendering the WBO welterweight title to Haney last November.
Boxing journalist Dan Rafael reports that Top Rank is planning Norman vs. Ramos for the card, which is expected to take place in San Francisco. The bout would be the 25-year-old Norman’s second fight since his defeat to Haney.
Rafael reports that Top Rank also plans to feature welterweights Tiger Johnson and Rohan Polanco. But Norman has the most to lose if the Ramos fight comes together: he’s a former champion trying to regain ground, and his proposed opponent has already shown this year that he can upset a younger fighter’s plans.
Ramos (29-6-3, 22 KOs) is 35 and has six losses on his record, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story. In February, he rallied to defeat previously unbeaten Tahmir Smalls by split decision. Smalls was supposed to be the rising fighter. Ramos turned the fight into a long night and left him with his first loss.
Norman is a more established fighter than Smalls, having already held a world title, but that doesn’t make Ramos a safe opponent. The veteran can pressure, take punishment, and keep working when a younger fighter expects him to fade.
For Norman, the danger is getting drawn into a fight at close range and spending too much time looking for one big punch. He has the power to hurt Ramos, but he’ll need to put his shots together and keep the veteran from setting the pace. If he lets rounds slip away while waiting for a knockout, Ramos could make the scorecards uncomfortable.
The setting would add another layer. Norman lost his WBO title to Haney by decision in Riyadh last November, and now he could return on the undercard while Haney fights Paro in a reported title unification.
That gives Norman a chance to put on a strong performance in front of an audience watching the man who beat him. It also gives him a direct comparison with his former opponent: Haney will be fighting for two belts while Norman takes on a hard veteran to keep his own title hopes moving.
A victory over Ramos would help Norman make his case for another major fight. A loss would be far more damaging, raising questions about where he fits among the leading welterweights after the Haney defeat.
Norman–Ramos remains a planned matchup, according to Rafael, rather than an officially announced fight. If it happens, Norman will have to get past an opponent who has already ruined one prospect’s unbeaten record this year.
