Brian Norman Jr.: "This Championship Belt Means Everything to Me!

WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. is ready to defend his title against Japan’s Jin Sasaki this Thursday at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. Atlanta’s undefeated star (27-0, 21 KOs) is traveling nearly 7,000 miles to defend his belt on enemy ground once again.

This will be Norman’s second title defense, following his breakout win against Giovani Santillan last May in San Diego.

His challenger, Jin Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs), is a powerful, aggressive fighter who’s unbeaten in his last nine bouts. Sasaki earned this title shot by outpointing Shoki Sakai in January on the undercard of Naoya Inoue vs. Ye Joon Kim.

The Norman vs. Sasaki main event, along with the full undercard, will stream live on ESPN+ in the U.S. starting at 4 a.m. ET / 1 a.m. PT. The main fight is expected to begin around 7:15 a.m. ET / 4:15 a.m. PT.

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What Brian Norman Jr. Said at the Final Press Conference:

"This championship belt means everything to me."
"I've dreamed of this since I was 7 years old. I'm 24 now—that's 17 years of hard work. I'm not letting go of this title, no matter where I fight. This belt is mine."

"I see the crowd support he has here in Japan, and I respect that. But now it’s my turn to do my job as champion."

"Confidence is key. Sasaki says he’s only 80% confident—that’s his mindset. I respect that he was honest. But me? I step into the ring 1,000% confident because I know how hard I’ve worked—not just this year, but every day, every second, for years. This is my life."

"To be honest, I don’t care about the cameras or the hype. I just love boxing. I’m here to fight, and I’ll enjoy myself in the ring on June 19."

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Thursday, June 19 – Live on ESPN+

Start Time: 4 a.m. ET / 1 a.m. PT

Main Event:

• Brian Norman Jr. vs. Jin Sasaki – 12 Rounds, WBO Welterweight World Title

Undercard:

• 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