Brian “The Assassin” Norman Jr. will leave Atlanta for the biggest road trip of his young reign, risking his WBO welterweight title against Japan’s knockout sensation Jin Sasaki on Thursday, 19 June, at Tokyo’s Ota City General Gymnasium. The Top Rank/Sankyo card streams live on ESPN+ and anchors a three-fight world-title triple.
Norman became boxing’s youngest active male champion last year when he stopped Giovani Santillán for the interim crown and was elevated after Terence Crawford moved up. The 24-year-old south-Georgia showman returned from hand surgery in March to blitz Derrieck Cuevas in three and says fighting abroad “finishes the passport I started as a teenager in Mexico.”
Watch Norman Jr. vs. Santillan highlights: Watch
Sasaki has terrorised the Asian scene since moving to 147, rattling off nine straight wins and collecting five defences of the WBO Asia-Pacific belt. The 23-year-old hammered ex-champ Keita Obara in two rounds and out-pointed Shoki Sakai in January, proving he can carry his power past the midway point. Tokyo promoters tout Norman-Sasaki as Japan’s first men’s welterweight world-title bout in a decade.
The co-feature crowns a new IBF junior-flyweight king as Filipino puncher Cristian Araneta meets Thai volume machine Thanongsak Simsri. Their clash fills the vacancy left when Sivenathi Nontshinga moved up.
Local eyes will lock on 20-year-old prodigy Sora Tanaka, who attempts a record-fast capture of the OPBF welterweight title against veteran southpaw Takeru Kobata. Tanaka, a two-time national amateur champion, has yet to fight beyond round five.
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