WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. and challenger Derrieck Cuegas weighed in successfully today for their co-festure bout this Saturday, March 29th, for an event that starts at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT, live on ESPN and ESPN+ from the BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
In the main event, WBO female welterweight champion Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan weighed in for their 10-round rematch.
Weigh-in results
Main card
– Mikaela Mayer 146 vs. Sandy Ryan 145.5
– Brian Norman Jr. 146.7 vs. Derrieck Cuevas 146.3
Preliminary card on ESPN+ at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 PT
– Bruce Carrington 125.3 vs. Jose Enrique Vivas 125.8
– Emiliano Fernando Vargas 138.6 vs. Giovannie Gonzalez 138.3
– Tiger Johnson 146 vs. Kendo Castañeda 146.8
– Dedrick Crocklem 128.6 vs. Dionne Ruvalcaba 128.8
– Emmanuel Chance 119.4 vs. Miguel Guzman 118.7
“I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on Norman because he’s already being treated like he’s not a champion,” said coach Greg Hackett at YSM Sports Media about WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. having pressure on him going into his first title defense against Derrieck Cuevas.
Brian Norman Jr. knows he’s got to look good, but he knows he’s not well known yet. He’s got to perform because a lot of fans only know him from his last fight against Giovani Santillan. Before that fight, Norman Jr. was an unknown with casual boxing fans. It hasn’t helped his situation that he’s been out of the ring for 10 months since that big win.
He should have come back a lot sooner and fought anybody. I know he wasted a lot of time trying to get a unification match with IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, but Top Rank should have bailed sooner when it was clear that the money wasn’t there to make that fight happen.
“He’s the co-main event under Mikalea Mayer, and the fights not in his hometown,” said Hackett. “He should have got a fight in Atlanta. He has to go out and perform. He has to not just win. He’s got to look good because people want to see fights [involving him] with Boots and Barrios with the WBC. People want to see who is the main in that weight class.”
It’s crazy that Brian Norman Jr. isn’t headlining his own card in the south or anywhere rather, he’s stuck on the undercard of Mikaela Mayer vs. Sandy Ryan 2 in Las Vegas. That looks bad. Keyshawn Davis got to headline his own card in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, while he was still a contender. Why isn’t Top Rank doing that for Norman Jr?
It doesn’t matter that Keyshawn fought in the 2020 Olympics. He didn’t win the gold. Andy Cruz of Cuba beat him. Norman Jr. should receive the same red carpet treatment by Top Rank as Davis.
“We got a new cast of guys. Who’s the man? He’s [Norman Jr.] one of the guys that is holding the belts,” said Hackett. “So, we got to see. That’s why I say there’s a little bit of pressure. I think Norman will do pretty good. When I seen him in Atlanta, he was in good shape then. I imagine he’s in great shape. I think he’ll do what he got to do.
“I feel pretty bad for the kid that he’s not being celebrated in Atlanta where he’s from,” said Hackett about Norman Jr. having to go on the road for his first defense and fighting on the undercard of a female bout rather than headlining.
Last Updated on 03/28/2025
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