Before the fight, there had been questions surrounding Haney’s position at the business end of the sport following two performances where he looked nowhere near his best. 

Haney was floored three times by Ryan Garcia last year before losing on the scorecards only for the result to be change to a ‘No Contest’ after his great rival failed a drug test. 

In his next outing, Haney fought defensively against Jose Ramirez in a lacklustre bout that saw the Californian win on the scorecards but lose credibility amongst those that watched it. He headed into the Norman bout with added pressure.  

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After securing the win, Haney was immediately met with criticism by Conor Benn who was ringside following his latest win over Chris Eubank Jr. 

Benn is intent on returning to welterweight to become world champion for the first time meaning a fight with Haney could be possible, but Bill Haney, Devin’s father and trainer, has hit out at the British star’s credentials. 

"Conor 'When'. When is he going to get a belt? When is he going to do what Devin has done?” said the elder Haney when speaking to Sky Sports. 

"When is he going to do something in boxing that's on Devin Haney's level? I mean just one thing, before you start talking to us. We did the stadium in Australia [against George Kambosos], we did that for undisputed. We did Lomachenko. 

"There's a lot of tremendously talented fighters that deserve a shot. Let's give the champ his well due respect." 

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