Brian Norman Jnr not only welcomed the open challenge issued by Jin Sasaki; he is now prepared to travel to his rival’s hometown.
BoxingScene has learned that plans are in place for Norman to defend his WBO welterweight title against the red-hot contender on June 19 at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. The proposed bout will be paired with the recently secured Christian Araneta-Thanongsok Simsri IBF junior flyweight title fight, once a deal is reached.
Norman, 27-0 (21 KOs) will make the second defense of his title, which will come less than three months after his last outing. The unbeaten 24-year-old from the greater Atlanta, Georgia area defeated Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas via third-round knockout on a March 29 ESPN show from BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Tokyo’s Sasaki, 19-1-1 (13 KOs), the mandatory challenger to Norman’s WBO title, was ringside for the occasion and made a point to meet up with Norman after the fight. The two enjoyed an amicable exchange, where Sasaki read aloud, in English, handwritten notes where he hoped to next face the unbeaten American.
Norman smiled politely and assured the streaking contender that he was open to the idea of the fight. True to his word, Norman is now taking the steps to secure his first pro fight outside of North America. All of his 28 pro fights (including one No-Contest) have taken place either in the U.S. or Mexico.
Sasaki is unbeaten in nine starts since an October 2021 eleventh-round stoppage to countryman Andy Hiraoka at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. News of his first title fight comes hours after Hiraoka, 24-0 (19 KOs) was confirmed to have entered negotiations with WBA junior welterweight titlist Gary Antuanne Russell, 18-1 (17 KOs).
Ironically, Sasaki will land his title fight before his lone conqueror. The all-action welterweight positioned himself for success on the strength of his 8-0-1 (7 KOs) current run.
His lone win to go to the scorecards during that period came in his last fight. Sasaki earned a twelve-round, unanimous decision over countryman Shoki Sakai on the January 24 Naoya Inoue-Ye Joon Kim undercard in Tokyo. The fight aired live on ESPN+, which would likely carry the June 19 doubleheader given Norman’s involvement.
Norman is signed with Top Rank, whose exclusive deal with ESPN and its platforms runs through the end of July.
The forthcoming proposed fight is a welcomed and lucrative alternative to unification bouts that, realistically, are not currently on the table.
As previously reported by BoxingScene, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, 34-0 (30 KOs), the unified WBA/IBF titlist is now pressed with not one but two WBA mandatory title defenses.
First up is an ordered bout with Uzbekistan’s Shakhram Giyasov, which must take place no later than August 12. Afterward, the winner will be required to face whoever prevails in the May 2 Ryan Garcia-Rolando Romero secondary WBA welterweight title fight.
Meanwhile, WBC titlist Mario Barrios, 29-2-1 (18 KOs) is rumored to next face Hall of Fame former eight-division titlist Manny Pacquiao, 62-8-2 (39 KOs). Details of the fight – should it move forward – won’t be revealed until after the election results of the 2025 Philippine Senate race. Pacquiao is a former Senator who seeks to reclaim a seat as a member of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas alliance.
Simply put, Norman and his team have chosen to keep the line moving.
Norman claimed the interim version of the WBO welterweight title with a highlight reel tenth-round knockout of unbeaten Giovanni Santillan last May 18 in San Diego, California. An upgrade was received to full titlist after Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford vacated the throne following his WBA junior middleweight title win over Israil Madrimov last August.
However, it was a long wait for his first title defense. Norman was in talks for a hoped-for unification bout versus Ennis but the two sides remained apart on financial terms. Both proceeded with separate title defenses, but a hand injury which required surgery delayed Norman’s planned clash with Cuevas by nearly five months.
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