Brian Norman Jr scored one of the most brutal knockouts of the year on Thursday afternoon in Tokyo, Japan.

The WBO welterweight champion defended his red and gold strap by flattening Jin Sasaki in round five with a booming left hook after dropping him twice in the opening stanza.

Norman Jr made light work of Sasaki
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Norman Jr made light work of SasakiCredit: Top Rank
Sasaki was left flat on his back for over a minute with members of his team and medical staff huddled around him.

He was eventually placed on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital, leaving onlookers visibly concerned.

Sasaki (19-2-1) entered the contest as an unknown quantity, having never boxed anyone near the level of Norman Jr.

It marked his second loss inside the distance after previously being stopped by Andy Hiraoka in a Japanese super lightweight title fight back in 2021.

Norman Jr, meanwhile, improves to 28-0 by producing his 22nd knockout.

The 24-year-old dispatched Giovani Santillan last May to lay claim to the interim WBO welterweight belt.

He was subsequently elevated to full world champion earlier this year when Terence Crawford vacated the title to move up to super welterweight.

In March, he defended the belt by blasting Puerto Rico’s Derreick Cuevas out inside three rounds before retaining it for a second time against Sasaki.

Norman Jr is now setting his sights on unification bouts.

However, an all-American blockbuster with IBF and WBA champion Jaron Ennis is now out of reach after ‘Boots’ recently declared his intentions to move up to 154lbs.

Norman Jr. succeeded Crawford as WBO welterweight champion
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Norman Jr. succeeded Crawford as WBO welterweight championCredit: Getty
“About the future, I wish I had a certain fight coming up, but they heard there was a storm coming,” Norman Jr said of a clash with Ennis post-fight.

“And you all know what happens when a storm is coming, you grab your boots and run.

“We shall see what is next for me. Hopefully October or November, we can get something, but we shall see.”

Ennis scored a career-best victory over Eimantas Stanionis in April, two weeks before Norman Jr’s last defence.

Norman Jr was then reportedly contacted by Ennis’ handlers over the three-belt shootout.

However, ‘The Assassin’ had already committed to fighting Sasaki by this point.

Conversations subsequently turned to making Norman Jr vs Ennis next after the Sasaki bout, but ‘Boots’ decided to move up in weight due to the harsh physical toll of boiling down to 147lbs.