Brian Norman Jnr has made a major change in his camp following his first professional defeat.
“I will say my father is no longer my head trainer at the moment,” Norman, now 28-1 (22 KOs), said in an expansive interview with Naji Grampus of Cigar Talk. “I have been looking at other options at the moment. I know some things had to get shooken up a little bit, just had to move different ways, that’s all.”
Brian Norman Snr had been both the head coach and a prominent voice speaking on behalf of his talented son, guiding him all the way to gaining the WBO title at 147lbs. But Norman Jnr was dethroned in his third defense, as he was dropped by Devin Haney in the 2nd round of their bout this past November 22 and ultimately lost via unanimous decision.
“I like winning. I need to go out here and win,” Norman Jnr said. “Whatever I feel like I need to do, I’m going to go out there and do it. No disrespect to him or anything like that. Great coach. Of course, he got me to this point. He’s still around. But it’s just that head trainer, I just feel like I need to venture out a little bit.”
Norman, a 25-year-old resident of Conyers, Georgia, said he’s talked with his promotional team at Top Rank and is looking at potential return dates in March and April.
“I know for a fact that I’m going to get the job done,” Norman said. “Even still to this day, I’m still the God of War. And I lost the battle, but I will win the war. I will be back and fight Devin Haney.”
Norman acknowledged that he will need to earn another shot at the title, whether against Haney or any of the other men with belts at 147.
“I need to go and knock me one head off real quick, and hopefully right after that, y’all see us like that,” he said.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
