TOKYO — The King of the South reigned supreme in the Far East.
Brian Norman Jr., the WBO welterweight world champion and boxing’s youngest male world titlist, successfully defended his belt with a brutal fifth-round knockout of Japanese contender Jin Sasaki on Thursday night at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old Atlanta native improved his undefeated record to 28-0 with 22 knockouts, delivering a performance that silenced the local crowd and ended Sasaki’s nine-fight unbeaten streak in emphatic fashion. Sasaki, now 19-2-1 (17 KOs), was dropped multiple times before a vicious left hook finished the bout and left him on the canvas for several minutes.
“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,” said Norman.
“I knew whatever he was bringing to the table, I’m a champion for a reason. As you saw, I showed that.”
Norman made his presence felt early, scoring a knockdown within the first minute of the fight with a sharp left hook to the top of Sasaki’s head. He added a second knockdown before the opening round ended. Sasaki showed grit, surviving the early storm and retaliating with flurries in the second round.
Round three saw Norman nearly end the bout again, pinning Sasaki to the ropes and landing a flurry of uppercuts and straight rights. But the dramatic finish came in round five, when a perfectly timed left hook ended the fight and likely stamped itself as a Knockout of the Year contender.
“I wish I had a certain fight coming up {against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis},” Norman said after the victory.
“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.”
With two impressive title defenses now behind him—including this electrifying Tokyo performance—Norman continues to stake his claim as one of boxing’s most dangerous and marketable young stars. A future clash with fellow welterweight standout Jaron “Boots” Ennis could be on the horizon, but for now, Norman enjoys another signature win—this time on foreign soil.
Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
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