Brian Norman Jr.: "This Championship Belt Means Everything to Me!"
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 18 Jun 2025
Norman to defend WBO welterweight crown against Japan's Jin Sasaki on enemy turf in Tokyo
Coverage begins on ESPN+ THURSDAY at 4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT
TOKYO (June 17, 2025) — Atlanta's newest world champion traveled nearly 7,000 miles to take care of business.
WBO welterweight king Brian Norman Jr. has finished preparations for Thursday's world title defense against Japanese challenger Jin Sasaki at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. This is the second title defense for Norman (27-0, 21 KOs), who burst onto the scene with last May's upset of Giovani Santillan in Santillan's hometown of San Diego.
He now enters enemy territory again versus Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs), who is unbeaten in nine fights and known as a relentless volume puncher. Sasaki earned the title shot with January's 12-round decision over Shoki Sakai on the Naoya Inoue-Ye Joon Kim undercard.
Norman-Sasaki and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. starting at 4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT. The main event is scheduled to begin at approximately 7:15 a.m. ET/4:15 a.m. PT.
This is what Norman said at Tuesday's press conference.
Brian Norman Jr.
"This championship belt means everything to me. This opens a whole lot of doors. This is what I dreamed about since I was 7 years old. I'm 24 years old now, so just imagine how long that is. That's 17 years. This is literally what I've been working for my whole life. I'm not giving it up at all. I don't care where I'm at, I don't care what the location is... this will forever be with me."
"I look out here and I see the fanbase that he has. I see all the love he has received, and I respect that he's doing his job. Now it's time for me to do the job that I'm supposed to do as the WBO welterweight world champion."
"Confidence is key. With Jin Sasaki saying he's only 80 percent confident, I mean, that's on him. But, also, he says he wants to overcome that. I respect him for being a man and actually saying that out loud and being real with everyone and himself. With me, I come to the ring every time a million percent confident and ready to go. I know the work I put in. I know the time I put in. This is not just this year. This is not just last year. This is year after year, day after day, second after second. This is what I live for. This is what I love to do.”
"Of course, we're here in front of all these cameras, but to be real, it's just the sport of boxing. I don't really care about this. I just like to fight, and I will have fun in the ring come June 19."
Thursday, June 19
LIVE on ESPN+ (4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT)
Brian Norman Jr. vs. Jin Sasaki, 12 Rounds, Norman's WBO Welterweight World Title
Sora Tanaka vs. Takeru Kobata, 12 Rounds, Vacant OPBF Welterweight Title
Yuya Oku vs Reiya Abe, 10 Rounds, Vacant Japanese Featherweight Title
Cristian Araneta vs. Thanongsak Simsri, 12 Rounds, Vacant IBF Light Flyweight World Title
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Brian Norman Jr.: "This Championship Belt Means Everything to Me!"
Wed, 18 Jun 2025Julian Gonzalez Takes on Former World Title Challenger Jason Sanchez in Main Event on Friday, June 27th at The 2300 Arena in Philadelphia
Wed, 18 Jun 2025IBA reaffirms its commitment to good governance and stability in Africa
Wed, 18 Jun 2025Day One of the USA Boxing Junior Olympics and Summer Festival Concludes
Wed, 18 Jun 2025The Past Week in Action 16 June 2025: Hitchins Stops Kambosos; Wins by Andy Cruz and Teremoana; Donaire Returns
By Eric Armit, Tue, 17 Jun 2025THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 9 - MUHAMMAD ALI WINS WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
By Maloney L. Samaco, Tue, 17 Jun 2025OKC Nears First NBA Title in Thunder Era; Outclasses Indiana, 120-109 in Game 5
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Tue, 17 Jun 2025Crawford Refutes #3 P4P Ranking; WBA Doesn't Forget Nonito Donaire
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Tue, 17 Jun 2025GM John Paul Gomez joins Touchmove in Roxas City
By Marlon Bernardino, Tue, 17 Jun 2025Perfect foe, perfect outcome
By Joaquin Henson, Tue, 17 Jun 2025Prospects Collide Results: Rajon Chance Defeats Yan Carlos Perez
Tue, 17 Jun 2025Undefeated Russian super middleweight Petr “The Surgeon” Khamukov to headline This Friday in Long Beach on DAZN
Tue, 17 Jun 2025International Boxing & MMA Consultants Appointed to serve as El Salvador Professional Combat Sport Commission
Tue, 17 Jun 2025Sasotize teams champion and 1st runner up in 2nd JCI Senate Chess Tourney
By Marlon Bernardino, Tue, 17 Jun 2025USA Boxing’s Elite High Performance Team Concluded World Boxing Championship 2025 With Nine Medals
Mon, 16 Jun 2025