Brian Norman Jr successfully defended his WBO welterweight title against Jin Sasaki on June 19 at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. Stepping through the ropes on rival territory, the native of Decatur, GA claimed the win by knockout, sending the Japanese challenger to the canvas three times along the way.
Norman dropped Sasaki twice in the opening round with a left hook. The end of the second round saw a firefight, while in the third round the champion had his opponent on the ropes delivering uppercuts and big right hands.
The fifth round happened to be the final. Norman sent Sasaki down for the third time with a big left hook to the head, after throwing a jab to the body. Referee Gustavo Tomas waved the fight off as the challenger was lying flat on his back and wouldn’t get back up on his feet.
With the victory, 24-year-old Brian Norman Jr (28-0, 22 KOs) made his second successful defense of the WBO 147-pound title and remained undefeated. 23-year-old Jin Sasaki (19-2-1, 17 KOs) fell short in his first attempt to become champion, snapping his seven-fight winning streak.
“It was a wonderful fight. I had a great opponent in front of me. You all seen he got heart. That boy is not a slouch at all. I give nothing but props to him. I love ya’ll over here in Japan. I’d gladly come back,” Norman said post-fight. “I knew whatever he was bringing to the table, I’m a champion for a reason. As you saw, I showed that.”
“I wish I had a certain fight coming up [against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis]. They heard B. Norm the storm is coming, and you know what happens when a storm is coming. You grab your boots and run. We shall see what’s next for me.”
On Norman vs Sasaki undercard
In the all-Japanese co-feature, Sora Tanaka (4-0, 4 KOs) stopped Takeru Kobata (14-8-1, 6 KOs) in the fourth round at welterweight. With the win, Tanaka landed the vacant OPBF title.
Among other Norman vs Sasaki results, Reiya Abe (27-4-2, 10 KOs) defeated Yuya Oku (8-1-2, 5 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the vacant Japanese featherweight title. The judges scored the 10-round fight 97-93, 96-94, and 96-94. Abe won the title for the second time in his career, while Oku suffered his first career defeat.
In the 12-round telecast opener, Thanongsak Simsri (39-1, 34 KOs) of Thailand took a split decision over Cristian Araneta (25-3, 20 KOs) of the Philippines. Simsri, who suffered a knockdown in the third round, won the vacant IBF super strawweight title.