Undefeated champion Brian Norman Jr faces once-beaten challenger Jin Sasaki, live from Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday, June 19. The pair battle it out in the main event, with the WBO welterweight title on the line.
Norman Jr (27-0, 21 KOs) of Decatur, GA makes the second defense of his belt. Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs) of Japan challenges for his first major title. The contest is scheduled for 12 rounds.
The co-feature pits Sora Tanaka (3-0, 3 KOs) against Takeru Kobata (14-7-1, 6 KOs). The all-Japanese matchup is scheduled for 12 rounds with the vacant OPBF belt at stake.
On the Norman vs Sasaki undercard, Yuya Oku (8-0-2, 5 KOs) and Reiya Abe (26-4-2, 10 KOs) meet in a 10-rounder for the vacant Japanese featherweight strap. In the 12-round telecast opener, Cristian Araneta (25-2, 20 KOs) of the Philippines and Thanongsak Simsri (38-1, 34 KOs) of Thailand clash for the vacant IBF super strawweight title.
Norman vs Sasaki airs live on ESPN+. The start time in the U.S. is 4:00 AM ET / 1:00 AM PT. The main event ring walks are expected at approximately 7:15 AM / 4:15 AM PT. A VPN service, such as ExpressVPN, may be useful for streaming from a different location.
Norman vs Sasaki live blog
Norman vs Sasaki final face-off video
At the official weigh-in ceremony, Brian Norman Jr and Jin Sasaki went face-to-face for the final time ahead of their bout.
Full fight video: Brian Norman Jr KO's Giovani Santillan to land title
Brian Norman Jr became champion last May, when he stopped Giovani Santillan in the 10th round at Pechanga Arena San Diego. In case you missed it – the full fight video is now streaming.
Norman vs Sasaki: How to watch & start time
Norman vs Sasaki airs live on ESPN+. The start time in the U.S. is 4:00 AM ET / 1:00 AM PT. The main event ring walks are expected at approximately 7:15 AM / 4:15 AM PT. A VPN service, such as ExpressVPN, may be useful for streaming from a different location.
Norman vs Sasaki results
Get Norman vs Sasaki full fight card and stay tuned for live results below.
Main card (4:00 AM ET / 1:00 AM PT)
- Brian Norman Jr vs. Jin Sasaki
- Sora Tanaka vs. Takeru Kobata
- Yuya Oku vs. Reiya Abe
- Christian Araneta vs. Thanongsak Simsri
Prelims (non-televised)
- Ren Ohashi vs. Guangheng Luan
- Yuito Moriwaki vs. Ha So Baek
- Seiya Yamaguchi vs. Ryosuke Kiuchi