Brian Norman Jr. is relishing his recent elevation to WBO welterweight champion, but the 23-year-old isn’t about to become complacent – he’s aiming for unification bouts instead.
Norman (26-0, 20 KOs) secured the interim title with a knockout victory over Giovani Santillan in Santillan’s hometown of San Diego. When Terence Crawford then vacated the full title, he was established as a champion in one of the most glamorous divisions in the world.
Norman, from Conyers, Georgia, is focused on making his mark by unifying the 147-pound division. Whether that be against Mario Barrios (WBC), Jaron Ennis (IBF) or Eimantas Stanionis (WBA), Norman is eager to fight any or all the other titleholders.
“It’s still a wonderful feeling, but I feel like there’s a lot more to do,” Norman said. “There are still three more belts out there to get, so I’m not satisfied with just that one.”
His ambition is clear.
“I just want unifications,” he added. “I don’t care who’s next. I don’t care what the order is. I just want my belts.”
Even before the outright title was officially his, Norman’s confidence was unwavering.
“I was already believing that I was the champion anyway, so that part of it was no different,” he said. “It just lit the fire. The fact that I am the champion now just solidifies that. Now I am targeted, so I have to step up my assassin game and terminate everybody that steps in the ring with me – even worse.”
Norman’s father and trainer, Brian Norman Sr., is overjoyed with his son’s accomplishments. Norman Jr., who carries his father’s former ring name, “The Assassin,” has made it a championship moniker in the family.
“He was the hypest person ever about it,” Norman Jr. said of his father. “You can call him right now, and he’s probably still on 1,000. He’ll forever be up about it. It means a lot because he did everything by himself, from a very young age – younger than I am right now. He was able to raise, train and mold a champion from the ground up over 23 years.”
With unification fights in his sights, Norman is ready to prove himself even further.
“I must eliminate every target that gets in the ring,” he said.
Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.
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