Brian Norman Jr To Defend WBO Title In Japan, Won't Wait For Jaron Ennis

Brian Norman Jr. is set to make a quick turnaround to the ring, and he looks to heading to the "Land of the Rising Sun."

The Ring Magazine is reporting that Norman will defend his WBO welterweight title against Japan's Jin Sasaki on June 19th in Tokyo.

Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is set to fight for the second time this year rather than wait on negotiations for a unification bout against unified IBF and WBA welterweight champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis. Norman is currently ranked No. 1 in The Ring Magazine's welterweight rankings, while "Boots" (34-0, 1NC, 30 KOs) holds the Ring Magazine title in the division.

The hard-hitting Norman is coming off his first title defense last month, stopping Derreick Cuevas in the 3rd round. Prior to that, in May 2024, he shocked the boxing world, knocking out the then-undefeated Giovanni Santillan in 10 rounds.

The 24-year-old is also looking to remain active following a hand injury that required surgery last fall. That injury caused a 10-month layoff before he knocked out Cuevas.

Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs) is ranked No. 2 in the WBO rankings at 147 lbs. He is also No. 6 in The Ring Magazine rankings in the division. Since his draw with Kotaro Sekine in July 2022, the 23-year-old has won seven fights in a row, with six of those being by stoppage.

The two sides have exchanged contracts, with the deal expected to be finalized soon. The Ring is reporting that Norman will earn a career-high purse for fighting Sasaki in his home country.

Norman’s team turned down a career-high payday to face Ennis on November 9 at Wells Fargo Center in Ennis’ hometown of Philadelphia.

If he's able to get past Sasaki, Norman's team would be willing to resume negotiations to fight Ennis. However, Ennis was recently ordered to make a fight against WBA mandatory Shakram Giyasov (17-0, 10 KOs)

Norman-Sasaki is expected to be streamed on ESPN+ as part of its expiring deal with Top Rank Boxing, Norman's promoter.

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