This past Thursday from the Ota-City Gymnasium in Japan, Brian Norman impressively defended his WBO welterweight title with a highlight reel knockout of Jin Sisaki. The challenger was tough, but the champion was simply too talented.
Norman floored Sisaki twice in round one. Then in round five unloaded a vicious left hook that sent Sisaki down frozen stiff on the canvas. Referee Gustavo Tomas began the count for some reason before waving it off. The truth of the matter is that he could have counted to 100, and Sisaki still wouldn't have beat the count.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx0OWE46Rw8
With this KO, Norman improved to 28-0 (22 KOs). Just as he did against Derrick Cuevas a few months back, he displayed an impressive blend of speed and power with ever improving technique and fundamentals. Topping it all off is elite athleticism. He's come a long way from the guy who struggled mightily against Nelson Bocachica not-too-long ago.
Naoki Fukuda/Top Rank
Norman is an ascending fighter.
With Jaron Ennis making the announcement a day or two earlier that he was moving up to 154, you could make the argument that it's Norman who is now the games top welterweight. Speaking of which, in the immediate aftermath of his victory, Norman stated: “I wish I had a certain fight coming up. They heard B. Norm the storm is coming, and you know what happens when a storm is coming. You grab your boots and run. We shall see what’s next for me."
That was obviously a shot at Ennis, who was the WBA and IBF champion after he stopped Eimantas Stanionis back in April. But with his body bursting out at the seams, he and his team made the decision to move up. There is an expanding chorus of fans online that are now questioning his credentials. The talented 'Boots' has now gotten to the point where some have him on pound-for-pounds lists (which could be premature) and others believe he is totally overrated (which could be an overstatement).
This has become the latest black-and-white issue in boxing. In truth, there is a substantial gray area to this discussion.
Here's a fact, Ennis leaves the division as the Ring Magazine and unified champion. But on the flip side, his overall resume' at 147 consists of Roiman Villa, Karen Chukhadzhian (twice), David Avanesyan and Stanionis. To be fair, like many other welterweights, he was stuck behind the logjam created by Errol Spence and Terence Crawford who circled one another for a few years before finally squaring off in 2023.
Things were only delayed more as Spence mulled over this rematch clause that he decided not to enforce by the end of that year.
Some will state that Ennis was more than willing to not face Crawford as the top challenger, and he took some criticism at the end of 2024 for not agreeing to take on Vergil Ortiz (who is now a junior middleweight). But at the same time, it was reported that Eddie Hearn/Matchroom Boxing made an offer to Norman last year. One of the reasons that it was not accepted was that while the offer represented a career-high payday, they would've had to pay taxes.
Yeah, ask Al Capone how not paying the IRS worked out for him.
Beyond that, the likes of Mario Barrios (WBC) were never truly an option given that he's aligned with PBC. Barrios is now preparing for a bout with Manny Pacquiao. Say whatever you want about this fight, but for Barrios the risk/reward ratio was always tilted for a bout with 'the Pac Man' as opposed to Ennis.
The hope is that as Ennis becomes a junior middleweight that he will tangle with the likes of Ortiz, Bakhram Murtazaliev, Sebastian Fundora, Serhii Bohachuk, sooner rather than later. Who knows, maybe even Norman as he inevitably moves up one day.
Matchroom Boxing
But the stark reality is that they will not face one another as the two best welterweights in the world while in their physical primes and undefeated. Some will talk about this bout needing 'marinating' but the fact is that Ennis has been a professional for about a decade and has 34 bouts under his belt. Norman, is now in his eighth year as a pro and has 28 bouts to his credit. He is now rated number one at 147 by Ring.
Ennis is 27, while Norman is 24.
To put this into perspective, last Tuesday was the 25th anniversary of the first meeting between Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. At the time, both were on pound-for-pound lists and highly accomplished professionals. When they met, Mosley was 28 years old, De La Hoya 27.
This past Friday (June 20, 1980) was the date of the 'Brawl in Montreal' where Roberto Duran handed Ray Leonard his first professional defeat at Olympic Stadium. At this juncture, Duran was 29, Leonard 24. And then you had Leonard's undisputed showdown versus Thomas Hearns in 1981. Leonard had turned 25 earlier that year, while 'the Hit Man' was just a month shy of turning 23.
I hate to be a full-blown cynic (but I just can't help myself at this point), but do you realistically envision Ennis and Norman squaring off as junior middleweights in the next few years? The reality is that today's boxing is about platform protection and risk mitigation. Young champions and their representative seem more reluctant than ever to put their guys in with one another, content to just make fights on the network that their promoter has exclusive deals with.
We long for the days of Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander facing off in the Silverdome.
