Devin Haney’s new status as the WBO welterweight champ following his surgical takedown of Brian Norman Jr. has set up big plans for 2026. His career was on the line as allegations of being a “shot fighter” surrounded him like flies around a carcass, but he took on the hardest bout available and is on his way back to the top. 

Despite Conor Benn’s insolence ringside and former partner Eddie Hearn, also the chairman of Matchroom Sport, trying to steal headlines in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, belittling his work post-fight, it was Haney’s first real step in getting respect back from peers and the public. His reputed “pillow fists” were as fast as ever and had enough pop to drop Norman, leaving him with a confused and embarrassed expression for failing to deliver on his promise to wound Haney. 

The champ is ready to take on anyone, yet a rematch with Ryan Garcia is irresistible. They have unfinished business in the wake of the tainted first match, in which Garcia tested positive for Ostarine, a banned substance that stimulates muscle growth. He was also overweight, which cost him the chance to earn the WBC super lightweight title, regardless of whether he won, before anyone knew he had a separate advantage, but Haney accepted payment for that missed prerequisite.

The once-suspended pugilist also has questions about how good he is, and says he’s going to fight WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios first. Claiming that belt would add extra credibility to a rematch by making it a unification, but it’s no guarantee for either man. Don’t forget that Garcia was ordinary on weight without PEDs, and Barrios didn’t have enough horsepower to beat 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao, as they went to a draw in July. Barrios is  decent but not the fighter he once was and hasn’t been since a brutal fade with Gervonta “Tank” Davis in 2021, in which he was stopped in round 11.

Assuming Garcia gets by Barrios and doesn’t blow the loot again by getting upset, like he was against Rolando  “Rolly” Romero in May, it will be his opportunity to rebuild his reputation from being a dirty fighter, too. Even with the facts against him, that reality still bothers Garcia, as evidenced by his taking personal shots at respected boxing journalist Dan Rafael for posting about his misdeeds.  

He’s lucky he didn’t have to earn the fight, and that Haney wants to punish him badly enough. One thing’s for sure: if Garcia gives us sloppy seconds from his fight with Romero, there’s no telling how his career will resuscitate. Still, as much as he probably has the underhand, Haney still has to prove he can take a hurtful shot to the mouth because Norman didn’t make it clear. Perhaps Romero can risk his WBA belt and oblige, keeping both of them busy, because Haney’s father Bill, mentioned him as a desired next opponent and that confrontation is no easy work. 

Additionally, a clash with Romero would give Haney some more rounds to get back to form. He could use them, as there were moments he took his foot off the gas against Norman.  

Haney and Garcia split six amateur fights and the former became a champion in a third division as a pro on Nov. 22 (lightweight, super lightweight and welterweight), while the latter has never been at the top. Their names will be tied together forever, so hopefully Part Two gets made, and it’s worth remembering. 

Conor Benn dismantled Chris Eubank Jr. in their rematch from April, splitting the bouts 1-1, and earning the respect of his foe, who called him a “drug cheat.” The latter knew from round one of their middleweight show down that he was mistaken about how the night would unfold, and now questions remain about his future… while Benn wishes to return to the welterweight division.

Benn didn’t rush in with the blind fury that powered him through the fist fight, but instead controlled aggression. He raised his jab frequency and shots to the midsection, which softened defenses for clean, vicious right-handed strikes to the head that sent the crowd in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into a frenzy. 

Eubank was a man way too light for his body after the weight cut and rehydration limit of 170 pounds. It would have been easy to mistake him for a prisoner in a gulag before the weigh-in. He appeared to take every blow twice as hard and had no pop on everything he gave back.  

Perhaps Eubank’s finest moment was in round three, tagging Benn’s low-ducking movement at close range, but his action was unsustainable. He kept eating jabs, including nine in round eight while connecting on zero, and he was pieced with 49% of Benn’s power shots, per Compubox.. 

Eubank desperately needed a knockout in round 12, and instead went down from a two-piece and again from a chopping right hand, never putting the outcome in doubt. The judges scored it unanimously for Benn: 119-107, 116-110 and 118-108. In his post-fight interview, Benn said, “This is the end of the Benn- Eubank saga. Done and finished. It’s over.”

Benn declared the family rivalry over, and said he wants a piece of Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title, or Ryan Garcia, “Rolly” Romero, Devin Haney, and “all of them yanks.”.   

Eubank didn’t commit to a rematch. If this was the last go-around, it leaves the Eubank-Benn rivalry at two victories for the Eubanks (1990 & 2025), one draw (1993), and one win for the Benns (2025).

Before leaving his presser, Eubank said he’d take time off and didn’t want to discuss his future in boxing. As much as he was affected by the weight cut, the first confrontation between him and Benn was a savage brawl that wasted a lot of himself. It will help him to go up to super middleweight (168 pounds), but he is in the last chapter of his career. 

“Conor Benn put on a hell of a fight,” Eubank said. “He had a great performance. He did everything that was asked of him, and I congratulate him for his performance tonight.”

The co-main event of the Nov. 22 card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, could easily be a headliner to a show. WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. (28-0, 22KOs, 2NCs) will defend his title a third time, but it comes against the top rival of his young career: Devin Haney (32-0, 1 NC), the former undisputed lightweight champion whose career is at a crossroads.

Norman, from Decatur, Georgia, and turning 25 the day after the fight, and Haney, age 26, from San Francisco, aren’t too friendly toward each other. The challenger shoved the champion at a press conference, and Haney’s bodyguard grabbed Norman in a hallway.

Norman is a hot name on top of holding a belt because he razed Jin Sasaki in Tokyo on June 25 with a left hook in round five. Potentially the knockout of the year, combined with a 78.6% KO ratio, he is the slight favorite on the sportsbooks (DraftKings, Caesars) and is a dangerous rival for Haney.

The toughest challenge on fight night, according to Norman, will be Bill, the trainer and father of his opponent. He senses vulnerability from Haney because he hasn’t been himself in the ring since getting beat up by Ryan Garcia, who had an unfair advantage in April 2024. It was initially ruled a unanimous decision win for Garcia, but later a No Contest. Haney’s defense was subpar, starting with catching a left hook early in round one that impaired him, then never recovering from a round-seven knockdown. He was still hurt when Garcia put him on the canvas twice more.

The drama that followed damaged both men. Garcia, also three pounds over on the scale at the weigh-in, later had his integrity questioned because of the banned substance in his system, was used as a political pawn, and he spiraled into racist and callous remarks towards others online. He later said he was getting help for his mental health.

Haney pursued legal action for battery against Garcia for an unspecified amount of money, but fans and people around the boxing world questioned his heart, such as Oscar De La Hoya (Golden Boy Promotions was also sued), Oscar Duarte and Tim Bradley, to name a few. He was gun-shy in his return: a boring victory over José Ramirez (29-3, 18KOs), more than a year after the clash with Garcia.  He wasn’t close to being the guy who relatively recently won a thrilling, unanimous decision against Vasiliy Lomachenko and outclassed Regis Prograis.

No one outside Haney’s inner circle knows what he is, but respect is deserved for taking on the tough challenges. He has no choice but to fight to the level of his competition or what he used to be, or else he’ll get smoked, potentially sent to the hospital. At his best, he could maneuver around peril with good footwork and punish others with one of the top jabs in all of boxing, plus quick counter punches. Only that version of himself makes it a close fight against Norman.

Hamzah Sheeraz wants the top names at 168 pounds:

Hamzah Sheeraz doesn’t think Saul “Canelo”  Álvarez is finished, but he’s looking elsewhere for a super middleweight (168 pounds) fade as the former Mexican champion recovers from elbow surgery. Unsure of who is next, he told The Ring in an interview that “whatever name they put in front of me, I’m going to sign…” yet doesn’t sound interested in fighting Callum Simpson because he’s not a big enough name.

The division has worthy matchups, such as Christian Mbilli, Jaime Munguia, Diego Pacheco, Jose Armando Resendiz and Caleb Plant. It’s uncertain what undisputed champion Terance Crawford’s next move is, and as stylistically enticing as a defense against Sheeraz- a 6-foot-3, 75’’ reach specimen- would be, it probably isn’t worth the risk to the champ, considering he can still chase history by taking over another division.

Sheeraz wasn’t stellar in his eighth and last fight at middleweight (160 pounds) against Carlos Adames- a draw for the WBC title that left many unsatisfied. But he’s a different man at super middleweight, judging by how he brutally erased Edgar Berlanga and wounded his pride.

The Englishman says this is only the start and the plan is to make a February return. Hopefully, nothing holds that up from happening with one of the top guys.

Gabriela “Sweet Poison” Fundora (17-0) is a flyweight (112 pounds) cheat code with cruel intentions who wasted Alexas Kubicki (13-2) in seven rounds, staying undisputed and the Ring Magazine champ. 

Two minutes might have seemed like two hours for the challenger who never stopped seeing leather in her face. She took an enormous leap in competition and took the fight on short notice, risking her seven-fight win streak against Fundora.

Kubicki’s only shot, having a five-inch height and six-inch reach disadvantage, was to go inside. She couldn’t do it without taking a brutal strike tax that soon had anyone with a soul guessing when the fight would stop. Her face was as puffy by then as Tony Dogs’ from Casino before Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) crushed his head further in a vise. 

It was obvious from the first seconds that it would go that direction. Kubicki didn’t have the upper body movement to escape the jab and furious right hand, looking like a laid-out body being ceaselessly shot by someone standing over them. 

Derek Kubicki, the challenger’s father, watched from her corner for the miracle shot, but a log would’ve had a better chance of making it out of a wood chipper.

The referee, Ray Corona, told Kubicki she was taking big shots in her corner and asked if she “wanted this.” She nodded with a yes. The doc quickly checked her out at the start of the seventh before Corona told her it was close to being wrapped up. He then got sick of the abuse and stepped in as Fundora clobbered her face.  

Fundora was pleased with her technical knockout but was never tested, and her domination perhaps has bored her, as she contemplates a move down to junior flyweight (108 pounds). She didn’t rule out going up junior bantamweight (115 pounds), either. 

When asked if Kubicki tried anything different than she’s seen in the ring, Fundora said no. “I’m not being cocky or anything. I expected her to come 1,000 percent, and I think she did, but again, we came a million [percent].”

Terence Crawford upset Canelo Álvarez for the super middleweight crown (168 pounds) in front of 70,482 fans, becoming the first undisputed male champ with four belts in three divisions. He said after the fight that people made too much of him coming up in weight (two divisions), and that he punched harder and was the bigger man.

Crawford, the southpaw with switch-hitting ability, strutted to the ring as mariachi from Desperado (1995) echoed through Allegiant Stadium, holding a guitar case, like the grim reaper on his way to collect his next victim. How he would handle power at 168 pounds was the biggest question before the fight, and the answer was that he never got hurt. He even stayed in the phone booth longer than expected, winning the exchanges against the favored Mexican pugilist. 

Both felt each other out early. Canelo stalked, trying to overwhelm with his pressure and power, but none of it fazed Crawford. The best shot by the former in the early rounds was a blow to the fleshy part of the body. The latter snuck in a left hook after the double jab. 

Crawford’s first real test was in round four, getting caught with two big right hands upstairs, taking it well. Then Crawford, who had a four-and-a-half-inch reach advantage, started stretching his control in round six as his jab became a bigger factor with seven touches. His best strike of that sequence was a sharp left hand, escaping the ropes and staggering Canelo. In between the next round, Canelo’s trainer, Eddy Reynoso, was heard telling him to be more active. 

Then Canelo, who was getting mauled,  accidentally headbutted him in round nine and opened a cut that didn’t bleed, briefly pausing the fight. Action resumed, and Crawford’s progress continued as he outlanded him in power shots 22-9, per CompuBox. He said later at the press conference the cut would require stitches later.

Crawford’s game plan involved sticking on the move, but he also had moments, brawling in the middle. Yet the moments he was surgical was too much for Canelo. Crawford connected on a jab to the head that caused Canelo to briefly disengage from frustration in the 10th round, and it happened again in the 11th. On top of that, his uppercut landed and a combo broke the guard. He subsequently knocked his Mexican, frustrated foe off balance with some shots in the 12th.

The judges scored it 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113.  

Crawford, on one knee, was overwhelmed with emotions. First he thanked god, called Canelo a great champion and said he didn’t know if it would be the last fight of his career. 

Canelo’s answer was ambiguous as it left the public uncertain if he wants a rematch. He later said at the press conference that Crawford is way better than Floyd Mayweather Jr., who defeated him in 2013.

Crawford later said, “Mean Machine hit harder than Canelo to me.”