Brian Norman Jr Knocks Jin Sasaki Out Cold In The 5th Round 

Airing early this morning in the States, Top Rank Boxing presented a welterweight world title fight that took place at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, as Brian Norman Jr knocked Jin Sasaki (19-2-1, 17 KOs) out cold in the fifth round.

Through the course of the abbreviated world title bout, Norman looked fast, strong, technically sound, and polished. His opponent, Jin Sasaki, appeared to be slow and, quite frankly, a level below the defending champion.

Before the bout, Norman was recognized as the boxer-puncher, and Sasaki was billed as the knockout artist. Brian Norman Jr was making his second world title defense, while the challenger Jin Sasaki was making his first attempt to win a world title.

In the opening round of the championship bout, Jin Sasaki was trying to establish a jab to the body. The champion Brian Norman responded by firing quick, sharp jabs to the head of his opponent.

At the 2:25 mark in the opening round, Brian Norman connected with a hard left hook that sent Jin Sasaki down to the canvas. Sasaki was able to get up, but 35 seconds later, Norman landed another solid left, which dropped Sasaki for a second time.

In the second round of the contest, Norman was dictating the pace of the fight as he calmly connected with hard right hands on multiple occasions. As the second round was coming to a close, Sasaki was able to force Norman against the ropes and land a flurry of shots.

Sasaki landed a big left hook early in the third, but  Norman proceeded to repeatedly frame Sasaki with his left and land hard shots with his right. In the fourth round, Norman’s right hand continued to hit the target consistently.

At the 2:21 mark of the fifth round, Brian Norman Jr landed a powerful left hook that knocked Jin Sasaki out cold. The 24-year-old WBO world welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr (28-0, 22 KOs) traveled to Japan and made an emphatic statement.

Brian Norman Jr is a young, highly skilled fighter who has all the tools. After winning his world title bout against Sasaki in such spectacular fashion, it might be time for Norman to focus on cleaning out the welterweight division.