One of the sport’s brightest rising stars has re-upped with one of the industry’s oldest promotional outfits.
Uncrowned has confirmed that WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. has signed a multi-year contract extension with Top Rank. The development comes as the unbeaten 24-year-old from the greater Atlanta area prepares for his next title defense against former two-division champ Devin Haney on Nov. 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Advertisement
Norman signed with Top Rank in late 2022 and has since blossomed into must-see theater whenever he fights. The Las Vegas-based establishment made good on its word to position him for success.
That favor was returned on Wednesday by Norman, who agreed to continue their relationship for years to come.
“I believe in loyalty,” Norman said in a statement provided to Uncrowned. “Top Rank believed in me from the start, and I’m proud to keep building with the home team.
“We’re only getting started.”
Norman (28-0, 22 KOs; 1 NC) is unbeaten in seven fights under the Top Rank banner. By his own admission, the first year was more about adjusting to the bigger stage and — at just age 22 at the time — still finding himself as a fighter.
Advertisement
“The biggest change for me was getting used to all the lights and things of that nature,” Norman told Uncrowned in a previous interview. “Also, I needed to embrace who I am as a fighter. When I first started fighting on TV, it was all about, ‘What do the fans want? Let me go do this, let me go do that.’
“As we all saw — because, let’s be real — it wasn’t working. I was forcing things, nothing was coming natural.”
Four fights into his deal, Norman was 3-0 with one no-contest and without a knockout victory since 2021. Still, his strong support system — Top Rank, Fighters First Management and his father and head trainer, Brian Norman Sr. — remained loyal to the cause.
“It has been a total team effort to get Brian Norman Jr. to where he is today,” said Adrian Clark, CEO of Fighters First Management. “I must credit Brian Norman Sr., Jolene Mizzone, and the Hall of Fame [Top Rank] matchmakers, Brad Goodman and Bruce Trampler. We are excited to continue our partnership with Top Rank.”
Advertisement
All it took for Norman to return the favor was raising the in-ring stakes.
Norman crashed the title picture and dominated the highlight reels with a sensational 10th-round knockout of Giovanni Santillan in May 2024 in San Diego, California. Their battle of unbeaten welterweights saw Norman claim the WBO interim title, which was upgraded to full title status a few months later when Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) moved up in weight.
WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. has developed into one of the top young talents in boxing.
(Steve Marcus via Getty Images)
That breakthrough moment has transformed Norman into a reliable knockout artist, and the type of talent Top Rank representatives saw when they first signed him.
“When I watch Brian Norman Jr., I think of all the legendary welterweights I’ve promoted,” said Hall of Fame promoter and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “He has the physical tools and maturity required to become a generational fighter.
Advertisement
“We are thrilled to be part of the next phase of Brian’s career, which I believe will see him ascend from world champion to the top of the pound-for-pound list.”
A hand injury left Norman shelved for the balance of 2024, though he returned with a vengeance earlier this year. A March 29 knockout win over Derrieck Cuevas was quick and clean enough to where he could enjoy a quick turnaround and his first trip overseas.
Norman traveled to Tokyo, where he obliterated Jin Sasaki in the fifth round to not only retain his title but deliver the leading contender for 2025 Knockout of the Year.
“By the time we got to Giovanni Santillan, I was comfortable being myself,” noted Norman. “We saw what happened there. Then with Derrieck Cuevas, same thing and we saw what happened. Jin Sasaki, we see what’s going on. That was the biggest lesson I learned along the way — just go out and be myself.”
Advertisement
Norman, who was one of Uncrowned’s top rising talents on our inaugural Top 25 Under 25 list for combat sports, intends to do just that in his next defense against Haney (32-0, 15 KOs), the biggest name and arguably best challenger he will face to date.
Read the full article here