Brian Norman Jr. vs Jin Sisaki Preview June 19th, 2025
Unbeaten WBO Welterweight Champion Brian Norman Jr of Decatur, Georgia defends his belt for the second time when he takes on Jin Sisaki of Japan in Tokyo this Thursday, June 19th. The fight can be seen live in America on ESPN+ starting at 4 am ET. Norman won the interim title in May of last year when he stopped Giovani Santillan in the 10th round and then took the full title when Terence Crawford gave up the belt and Norman stopped Derrieck Cuevas in the third round in his last outing in March. Sisaki last saw action in January when he beat fellow countryman Shoki Sakai via a 12-round unanimous decision to defend his WBO Asia-Pacific, and Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Welterweight Titles.
Norman Jr vs Sisaski Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jin Sisaki +400
- Brian Norman Jr -600
My Pick
The 24-year-old Norman Jr enters the ring with a perfect record of 27-0 with 21 Ko’s and has 95 rounds of pro experience under his belt since making his debut in 2018. As an amateur, Norman won the 2016 USA Junior Olympics Final. He stands 5-feet-8 inches tall with a 72-inch reach and carries very good power in his fists as his current knockout ratio tips the scales at 77.8 per cent but has gone the distance in three of his last five official fights.
His bout with Janelson Bocachica in March of 2024 was called a no-contest in the third round as both boxers suffered severe cuts. Norman was defending his WBO International Welterweight Belt which he had won in November, 2023 via a 10-round unanimous decision over Quinton Randall. Norman made his pro debut in Houston, Texas and then fought a dozen times in Mexico and none of his first 12 opponents had a winning record and the same can be said for 16 of his 27 overall opponents.
But we must remember he’s just 24 years old. This will be his first fight outside of America after 13 straight bouts in the United State. His biggest wins have been against Cuevas, Santillan, Carlos Ramirez, Flavio Rodriguez, Juan Rodriguez Jr, Benjamin Whitaker, Rodrigo Coria, Jesus Campos and Quinton Randall so it’s safe to say that Norman Jr stepped up in class against Santillan last year and passed the test with flying colours.
Sasaki is younger than Norman at just 23 years old and has built up an impressive mark of 19-1-1 with 17 Ko’s and 87 rounds to his name since making his pro debut in 2018. He took up boxing when he started junior high school and reportedly went just 1-3 as an amateur. Things have certainly gone better for the youngster since turning pro as a teenager as he reached the 2019 East Japan Lightweight Rookie of the Year Final. However, he couldn’t make weight when he got there.
In 2020, Sasaki captured the Japanese Super Lightweight Youth Title by stopping Aso Ishiwaka in the third round. He defended the belt against Kaiki Yuba via a second-round KO to earn a shot at the vacant Japanese Super Lightweight Crown and the WBO Asia-Pacific Super Lightweight Title. He faced off against unbeaten Andy Hiraoka and was halted in 11th round for his lone pro defeat. Unfortunately, he had a weight problem again as he was four pounds overweight and the 140 lb title was on the line for Hiraoka only.
This led to the Japanese Boxing Commission suspending Sasaki’s license in October, 2021 for six months and they also fined him 20 per cent of his purse. When he returned to the ring in April, 2022, Sasaki had moved up to the welterweight division and halted Marcus Smith in the fifth round. The lone draw on his record came in his next fight when he fought to a six-round stalemate with Kotaro Sekine. He then won the WBO Asia-Pacific Welterweight Belt in November, 2023 when he took care of Ryota Toyoshima in just 116 seconds. Sasaki added the vacant Oriental and Pacific Belt with a fifth-round TKO over Joe Noynay last May.
It’s obvious that Sasaki has a ton of power as he’s gone the distance just three times as a pro and 89.5 per cent of his victories have come by stoppage. Sekine lasted the distance with him in their draw and he beat Hikaro Satu via a four-round unanimous decision in 2019 as well as going the distance with Sakai in his last bout. Although Sasaki was stopped by Hiraoka the first time he took a step up in class, he’s currently ranked number two in the world at welterweight by the WBO and number six by Ring Magazine. Sasaki measures just over 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 69.5-inch reach so is a half-inch taller than Norman but gives up 2.5-inches in reach.
Prediction…
Both young boxers have power and solid chins to go along with their boxing skills and this could be a close fight. Sasaki is fighting at home and that may give him a slight advantage but this contest is ultimately going to be decided by power and skill. No outcome will be a shock but I’ll give the slight edge to Norman since he’s the undefeated champion here.
Norman Jr. has a slight edge in power and skill.
Play: Norman Jr. -600 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Brian Norman Jr betting • Jin Sasaki betting