Brian Norman Jnr is officially on the hunt.

Norman, a 24-year-old welterweight titleholder originally from Decatur, Georgia, is 26-0 (20 KOs) and considered to be in the conversation with Jaron Ennis, Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney among the best at 147. But by his own calculations, he has yet to earn his belt.

After stopping Giovani Santillan last May to secure an interim title, Norman wasn’t elevated to full titlist until Terence Crawford vacated in August to move up in weight.

“I feel like a champion is not a champion until that first title defense,” Norman said. “I’ve got a wonderful competitor coming against me. So it’s time to prove that I am the real-deal champion.”

That competitor: Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas, 27-1-1 (19 KOs), who will challenge Norman on March 29 at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas in the co-feature to the Mikaela Mayer-Sandy Ryan rematch and women’s welterweight title fight.

Cuevas, 30, hasn’t fought in 15 months and has never faced an opponent on Norman’s level. He was saddled with his only career loss in a six-round split decision against Damian Ezequiel Bonelli in 2020 but has posted four consecutive stoppages since – including, most recently, a sixth-round TKO of Marlon Aguas in December 2023.

Norman had been gunning for much bigger game – specifically, fellow welterweight belt holder Ennis – before settling on Cuevas, but he said a fighter in Cuevas’ boots can be dangerous.

“He's a very tough fighter,” Norman said. “He’s coming to change his life. This is a championship fight. So I know how that feels. He’s thinking, ‘All I have to do is win this one fight, and my whole life changes.’

“He’s very strong and powerful. He’s coming to knock my head off. It’s going to be a very good fight, but I don’t think it will be a long one.”

Cuevas was only the pick after negotiations between Norman and Ennis’ sides broke down last fall. And when the initial December 8 fight date was pushed back because of a Norman hand injury, Cuevas continued training – and hasn’t stopped since. That doesn’t mean he’s happy about it.

“He thought that maybe it was gonna be an easy fight,” Cuevas told BoxingScene through a translator, “and so he started using excuses, a hand injury, and that’s why the training camp was so long – to see if I would get discouraged. But on the contrary, we kept focused, we stayed there, and now we’re ready for the fight.”

Cuevas’ sense of disrespect might be exacerbated by Norman’s ongoing campaign to both call out and disparage Ennis – on social media and in other public forums – in the weeks and months since.

"After this fight, we can get that unification fight,” Norman said. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m 24 years old. I’m going to be a welterweight for a smooth minute. Let’s get these fights in.”

In the meantime, Norman wants to continue validating his title, proving his status in the division and using his leverage to make fights that ultimately raise his game.

“I see it as a good thing, because I’m still a hunter,” he said. “I’m hunting for knowledge. I’m hunting for experience. And I’m hunting for more skills. I want to see how far I can go.”