The clinching proved to be his biggest obstacle.
Coming forward with one punch at a time, Norman often dove in from too far out. Haney would grab him, shut down the attack, and wait for the referee to separate them. Norman allowed that pattern to continue instead of finding a way to punish Haney for holding.
Norman had to cut off the ring, throw combinations instead of committing to one big shot, and fight through Haney’s clinches. When Haney grabbed, Norman needed to keep a hand free and hammer him with hard shots to the head. Making Haney pay every time he initiated a clinch would have given him a reason to
