It didn’t take long for Brian Norman Jnr to develop a new fanbase.
Shortly after he was confirmed to next face Jin Sasaki, the unbeaten WBO welterweight titlist noticed a growing number of unread messages in his inbox. It has only increased as the days have drawn nearer for Norman’s second title defense this Thursday in Sasaki’s hometown of Tokyo, Japan.
“I’ve been seeing a whole lot of Japanese followers ever since this fight was announced,” Norman told BoxingScene. “I’m pretty sure after the fight, it will be even bigger.
“My goal is to make sure they want me back.”
ESPN+ will air their fight live beginning at 4:00 a.m. ET from Ota-City General Gymnasium. Ring walks for the main event are expected to take place roughly 7:15 a.m. ET.
Fighting outside of the U.S. is not a new experience for Norman, 27-0 (21 KOs). Twelve of his first 14 career pro bouts took place in Mexico.
Thursday, however, will mark his first trip abroad.
Norman was prepared for the possibility of updating his passport not long after his last outing. The 24-year-old from the greater Atlanta area was joined by Sasaki, 19-1-1 (17 KOs) immediately after his March 29 third-round knockout of Derrieck Cuevas in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sasaki was complimentary in his congratulations of Norman and courteous in his callout of the unbeaten American.
At the time, Norman was hopeful of a unification bout. That meant either waiting out WBC titlist Mario Barrios or the winner of the April 12 Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis-Eimantas Stanionis IBF/WBA title fight, won by Ennis via sixth-round stoppage.
It quickly became clear that neither would become a viable option. By that point, Norman and his team moved on to the sure thing in hand for the sake of remaining active.
“By late April, we knew that it was done,” Norman said of the timing of the bout. “I never really wasn’t thinking like that, until he approached me after my fight [with Cuevas]. Then the gears started spinning. It got me thinking, ‘This can really happen.’
“I’m very excited to be going to his hometown and experience it for himself.”
Sasaki aims to make history as the first Japanese boxer to win a piece of the welterweight crown.
Norman is determined to make sure that doesn’t happen. The good news is that he is presented with a challenger who won’t be hard to find. Sasaki fights to entertain, a style that suits Norman as shown in his past two knockout victories on the title level.
“Jin is perfect for exciting fights,” acknowledged Norman. “That boy do not like going the distance. He’s about action and entertainment. You see why the Japanese fans love him.
“With me, you see what happened when I won the title, we went to war. I’m willing to go to war again. May the best win.”
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on and .
