Brian Norman Jr successfully defends WBO welterweight title against Jin Sasaki

Brian Norman Jr recorded a second successful defence of his WBO welterweight title with a brutal fifth-round knockout of Jin Sasaki at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

Upsetting Giovani Santillan with a 10-round knockout to win the WBO interim welterweight title in May 2024, Norman Jr inherited full WBO champion status after Terence Crawford relinquished his belt last August and the American retained his crown at the first time of asking with a third-round stoppage win over Derrieck Cuevas in March.

Sasaki was the next to challenge for the WBO strap after winning eight of his previous nine bouts since moving up to welterweight, but the 23-year-old proved to be no match for Norman Jr, whose substantial size advantage meant there was only going to be one winner.

'The Assassin' dictated proceedings from the first bell and dropped Sasaki twice in the first round with some excellent combinations.

Sasaki responded in the second round with a series of wild swings, but the American punished his erratic approach and Norman Jr's dominance continued after landing several painful body blows.

To Sasaki's credit, the Japanese fighter remained undeterred and he survived another onslaught in the fourth round before the defining moment of the fight arrived in the fifth.

The defending champion demonstrated his incredible power by knocking Sasaki out cold with a venomous left hook within the first minute of the fifth round to extend his record to 28-0 (22 KOs).

After his triumph, Norman Jr responded to Jaron 'Boots' Ennis' decision to move up to super-welterweight.

The undefeated Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) had established himself as the man to beat at 147lbs but following weeks of speculation, the 27-year-old revealed his ambition to conquer another weight class.

Norman Jr had been accused of ducking a fight with Ennis when a fight fell through in 2024, but following Ennis' decision to move up to 154lbs, Norman Jr directed the attention back onto his rival.

"I wish I had a certain fight coming up, but they heard the B Norman storm coming," he said.

"You know what happens when that storm comes, they grab their boots and run."

Jaquob Crooke

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