Unbeaten champion Brian Norman Jr. is set for his next fight against Jin Sasaki on June 19 at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. The pair square off in a 12-round bout, with the WBO welterweight title on the line. In the U.S., the event airs live on ESPN+.
Norman Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs) makes his second ring appearance of the year and the second defense of his WBO 147-pound belt. The 24-year-old native of Decatur, Georgia is fresh off a win by TKO in the third round against Derrieck Cuevas on the undercard of Mayer vs Ryan 2 in Las Vegas at the end of March.
Riding a seven-fight winning streak, Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs) of Japan makes his first attempt to get on top of the division. The once-beaten contender is coming off a win by unanimous decision against Shoki Sakai on the undercard of Inoue vs Kim in Tokyo in January. The 23-year-old’s first career defeat goes back to October 2021, when he suffered an 11th-round TKO against Andy Hiraoka.
“The king from the south comes to take over the world. I like how that sounds,” said Brian Norman Jr. “On June 19, I’m ready to put on a stellar performance and write another triumphant chapter of ‘The Norman Experience.'”
In Norman vs Sasaki undercard action
The co-feature on the card is a world title bout between Cristian Araneta of the Philippines and Thanongsak Simsri of Thailand. The 12-round contest is set to crown a new IBF champion at super strawweight.
30-year-old southpaw Araneta (25-2, 20 KOs) stopped Sanchai Yotboon in the first round late last year and secured his sixth win in a row since dropping a unanimous decision to Sivenathi Nontshinga in April 2021. 24-year-old Simsri (38-1, 34 KOs) aims for his 15th straight victory following a third-round knockout of Songchai Songklod in February.
Among the Norman vs Sasaki undercard bouts, Sora Tanaka takes on Japanese fellow Takeru Kobata. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds at welterweight.
23-year-old Tanaka (3-0, 3 KOs) defeated Ador Torres via fourth-round TKO in March. 26-year-old southpaw Kobata (14-7-1, 6 KOs) lost his previous bout last December by unanimous decision against David Ssemujju.