Boxing Prodigy Brian Norman Jr. Heads to Tokyo for Title Defense

Boxing’s youngest reigning male world champion, Brian “The Assassin” Norman Jr., is set to defend his WBO welterweight title on enemy ground.

Norman will face off against Japanese challenger Jin Sasaki on Thursday, June 19, at Tokyo’s Ota City General Gymnasium. The event will be headlined by Norman’s title defense and supported by a compelling co-main featuring rising Japanese star Sora Tanaka.

In the co-feature, the undefeated Tanaka (3-0, 3 KOs) will make a major leap, stepping into a 12-round bout against seasoned opponent Takeru Kobata (14-7-1, 6 KOs) for the vacant OPBF welterweight belt.

The full fight card, including undercard bouts, will stream live in the U.S. exclusively on ESPN+, starting at 4 a.m. ET / 1 a.m. PT. The main event is expected to begin around 7:15 a.m. ET / 4:15 a.m. PT.

Norman (27-0, 21 KOs), a 24-year-old from Atlanta, launched his pro career at just 17 with a series of wins in Mexico. He climbed the ranks quickly with a string of dominant performances, many in his home state of Georgia. After signing with Top Rank in 2023, Norman made headlines by knocking out Giovani Santillan in the 10th round to claim the interim title. Promoted to full champion shortly after, he made a statement with a third-round demolition of Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in March.

Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs), a heavy-handed Tokyo native, has looked unstoppable at welterweight, racking up nine straight wins since his lone career loss. He claimed the WBO Asia Pacific title in early 2023 with a devastating first-round KO of Ryota Toyoshima and has since defended the belt five times. His recent victories include stoppages over Joe Noynay and Qamil Balla, and in January, he went the distance for the first time to earn a unanimous decision against Shoki Sakai on the Naoya Inoue undercard.

Also on the card:

– In the ESPN+ opener, Filipino southpaw Cristian Araneta (25-2, 20 KOs) takes on Thailand’s Thanongsak Simsri (38-1, 34 KOs) for the vacant IBF junior flyweight world title. Araneta brings a six-fight win streak, while Simsri is riding high with 14 straight victories since a 2022 setback.

– A domestic showdown sees unbeaten Yuki Onu (8-0-2, 5 KOs) face off with former world title challenger Reiya Abe (26-4-2, 10 KOs) for the vacant Japanese featherweight title. Both fighters are looking to bounce back from recent draws—Onu against Kyohei Tonomoto last fall, and Abe versus Satoshi Shimizu this March.