TOKYO — Boxing’s youngest energetic male world champion is able to make a press release on overseas soil.
Brian “The Murderer” Norman Jr. will defend his WBO welterweight world title in opposition to Japan’s Jin Sasaki on Thursday, June 19, on the Ota Metropolis Normal Gymnasium in Tokyo. This anticipated showdown headlines a compelling card that options native stars and world title implications throughout a number of divisions.
The co-feature will see unbeaten Japanese phenom Sora Tanaka (3-0, 3 KOs) make a daring leap to 12-round motion in simply his fourth skilled bout, battling seasoned veteran Takeru Kobata (14-7-1, 6 KOs) for the vacant OPBF welterweight title.
Norman vs. Sasaki, Tanaka vs. Kobata, and the undercard will stream stay and completely on ESPN+ within the U.S. beginning at 4 a.m. ET / 1 a.m. PT, with the primary occasion anticipated at 7:15 a.m. ET / 4:15 a.m. PT.
Brian Norman Jr.: America’s Rising Champion
Norman (27-0, 21 KOs), a 24-year-old from Atlanta, started his skilled journey at simply 17 with a string of early wins in Mexico. He shortly rose by way of the ranks with a dominant run within the U.S., together with 5 knockouts in his dwelling state, earlier than signing with High Rank in early 2023.
In a breakout second, Norman seized the interim WBO welterweight title with a thunderous Tenth-round knockout of Giovani Santillan in enemy territory. Three months later, he was elevated to full world champion and returned in March to attain a surprising third-round stoppage over Derrieck Cuevas.
Jin Sasaki: Japan’s Knockout Artist
Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs) is unbeaten as a welterweight, having compiled 9 wins and 7 knockouts since struggling the one lack of his profession. He introduced his presence on the world stage in January 2023 by demolishing Ryota Toyoshima in a single spherical to say the WBO Asia Pacific title.
Sasaki defended the belt 5 instances, together with devastating finishes over Joe Noynay and Qamil Balla in 2024. He proved his endurance by going 12 full rounds in a choice win over Shoki Sakai on the Naoya Inoue-Ye Joon Kim undercard earlier this yr.
Extra Excessive-Stakes Motion on the Undercard
The ESPN+ broadcast opens with a vacant IBF junior flyweight world title bout between Filipino southpaw Cristian Araneta (25-2, 20 KOs) and Thailand’s power-punching Thanongsak Simsri (38-1, 34 KOs). Araneta enters the title conflict on a six-fight win streak, whereas Simsri seems to be to increase his personal streak to fifteen since his lone defeat in 2022.
An exciting home rivalry will unfold as Yuki Onu (8-0-2, 5 KOs) takes on Reiya Abe (26-4-2, 10 KOs) for the vacant Japanese featherweight title. Each fighters are coming off attracts — Onu battled Kyohei Tonomoto over eight rounds final November, whereas Abe went ten rounds with Satoshi Shimizu in March.
With world title implications, regional supremacy on the road, and a worldwide highlight shining on Tokyo, this card guarantees to ship motion, depth, and the following chapter in Brian Norman Jr.’s meteoric rise.
Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Government Author, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a ardour for Fight Sports activities and in addition a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s additionally a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
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