A little over a month and a half before WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr makes his first title defense in Las Vegas, his father, Brian Norman Sr, will fight Greg Hackett on BLK Prime.
Norman Sr and Hackett will fight in a six-round bout at Champion Boxing Gym, Jonesboro, Georgia, broadcast on BLK Prime on February 15. This fight will be contested at or around the light heavyweight limit.
Meanwhile, Norman Jr will fight Derrieck Cuevas in his first title defense of his WBO title on March 29 at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. That card is promoted by Top Rank, and telecast on ESPN, a little over a month after his father’s fight.
Norman Sr, who hails from Atlanta, now has five children, including a 10-year-old. Norman Sr noted that Brian Jr was his youngest. Norman Sr, who was a single father raising four children, has the passion for his children, especially when he talks about current title holder, Norman Jr. Norman Sn sometimes appears on random podcasts or YouTube streams defending his son’s honor, as parents do. Hackett, who will fight Norman Sn, is from Philadelphia.
“He had a lot to say,” Norman Sr told BoxingScene. “I had a lot to say. He said we could settle things in the ring and I agreed.”
The story is based on a series of sparring stories from when Norman Jr sparred Ennis. Given that a fight didn’t happen between the two fighters, people loyal to either team have had a lot to say. That is the origin story of Norman Sr’s return to the ring. Norman Sr hadn’t fought since 2011 when Dominic Wade stopped him. This will be Norman Sr’s first pro fight in 14 years. Norman Sr will be trained by his son for parts of this camp.
“He [Norman Jr] trains me. I’m good to go,” Norman Sr, 17-11 (5 KOs), said. “My camp started at the end of November. I’m fine.”
Hackett is a blue-collar veteran. The 38-year-old from Philadelphia might not have a menacing record at 3-23-1, but he is a coach and fighter who is well-respected in his region. Hackett fought in May losing a four-round unanimous decision to Dominique Mayfield in Newark, New Jersey. Despite the loss, Hackett has been active. Norman Sr was quick to point out that there were no switching gears when preparing for his fight and training his son for his fight.
“I’m always his coach. I’m always his father,” Norman Sr said. “I’m always in his corner. I’m always going to be a big part of what’s going on.”
Norman Sr also explained why he goes off in interviews and is so passionate about his 24-year-old son’s career.
“They don’t understand what I’ve been through and what I’ve done,” Norman Sr said. “I have four children by the same woman.”
Norman Sr said. “Then we ended up splitting and she moved away. I had all four kids at 26 years old.”
Norman Sr believes Norman Jr, 26-0 (20 KOs), was four years old at that time and they have been training together ever since then.
“That was a big part of who he is and what he is. That’s a huge part of who I am and what I am. I put a lot of energy into him,” Norman Sr said. “I’m not just a father who believes all you have to do is feed the kids. I really try to put knowledge into them. I really put life lessons into them. What is boxing? What is outside of boxing?”
With two generations of Normans now training in the same gym for separate fights, they are gearing up for an exciting start to 2025. Both Norman Jr and Sr have been doubted and continue to defy the odds. Norman Sr even pointed out that he sometimes gets the upper hand in the gym.
“I did something better than he did,” he said. “My old ass did something better than he did and I told him it was unacceptable. When he was trying to give me reasons to say no, it doesn’t make sense that my old ass can go in there and do something better than he can.
“I’m going to outclass Hackett,” Norman Sr said. “He’s not going to finish six rounds. Whether it is a disqualification or whether he just gets stopped, he won’t finish six rounds with me. He won’t do that. That won’t happen.”
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