WBO welterweight titleholder Brian Norman Jnr enjoys being a road warrior.
Norman will head to Japan to make his second title defense against Jin Sasaki on June 19 at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
Norman, 27-0 (21 KOs), is currently training in Big Bear Lake, California, in anticipation of a contest with a like-minded fighter. A year ago, Norman went into Giovani Santillan’s hometown of San Diego and knocked him out for the vacant WBO title. Terence Crawford moved up in weight, making Norman the outright champion.
But Norman, who hails from Conyers, Georgia, isn’t satisfied. He wants to be a world champion who uses his passport.
“Right now, I’m the champion,” the 24-year-old Norman told BoxingScene. “I’m still going to somebody else's spot and still doing the same thing. You tell me who's out here doing that? It just sounds wonderful to me.”
How did the fight come about? After Norman’s knockout win over Derrieck Cuevas in March, Sasaki approached him (pictured). “He came up real respectful after my last fight with a letter and called me out,” Norman said.
Three months later, they are fighting.
Sasaki, 19-1 (17 KOs), will find himself in a similar spot as Santillan did when he faced Norman, the hometown fighter. Sasaki, 23, hails from Tokyo and will be fighting for his first title. He is currently ranked No. 2 in the WBO rankings behind Alexis Rocha.
Norman is eager for the challenge, especially given that Sasaki is known for knockouts and slugging with his opponents.
“It’s fun. It is as simple as that,” Norman said. “It’s just straight up fun. I box because I like to fight. So, when I don’t have to look for my opponent in the ring I know for a fact he will be right there in my face. It’s simply fun getting ready for a fight like that.”
Norman is trained by his father, Brian Norman Snr, and also uses his father’s moniker of “The Assassin.” A rebrand might be in the works: Norman could organically become “The Road Warrior” given his willingness to face foes in their hometown, whether he has the belt or not.
“I am taking it fight by fight, but as you can see, I’m the road warrior, so I’m down to go anywhere,” Norman said.