Brian Norman Jr vs Jin Sasaki - ESPN+

[JOITATS]

Ennis is moving up. Let Norman chase Barrios and Rolly. Supposedly Haney is interested in fighting Norman.

That's why I said asap. anyways, Ennis don't want Norman.
Norman beats Barrios & Rolly easy.


I don't want to see Haney fight again.
Norman doesn't really move that much, and Haney is gonna run.
That's gonna be a boring fight.

[kiaba360]

That's why I said asap. anyways, Ennis don't want Norman.
Norman beats Barrios & Rolly easy.


I don't want to see Haney fight again.
Norman doesn't really move that much, and Haney is gonna run.
That's gonna be a boring fight.

Norman looked good today and did what he needed to do, but opponents like Sasaki are not going to build his marquee value. Now that Ennis is gone, Norman really can't afford to be choosey. Norman should not hesitate to get Haney in the ring. If Haney runs, Norman needs to be ready to give chase.

[LG Motel 22]

Scary stuff that

[JakeTheBoxer]

Ennis is moving up. Let Norman chase Barrios and Rolly. Supposedly Haney is interested in fighting Norman.

That sucks. Norman should move to 154 too.

I don't care about him fighting Barrios and Rolly.

[crimsonfalcon07]

Ennis is moving up. Let Norman chase Barrios and Rolly. Supposedly Haney is interested in fighting Norman.

Ennis literally turned down a contract to fight Ortiz Jr because he claimed he wanted undisputed at 147. Now he can't even fight the other clear claimant to the throne? He's right back to his ducking ways, it seems. He better at least fight Bohachuk at 154 if he's gonna quack out of this one. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for the Stanionis fight, but if you're going to avoid a fight like the Ortiz fight saying your goal was undisputed, then duck the other big threat in the division when it comes available, it really clarifies things.

[Joseph]

My schedule is so effed up right now, chances are I'll get to watch this.

Turns out I did not get to watch, but just caught the replay. Holy fuck, that was a frightening KO. Sasaki is a killer with no defense. Shame. Norman looked good doing what he needed to do.

[kiaba360]

Ennis literally turned down a contract to fight Ortiz Jr because he claimed he wanted undisputed at 147. Now he can't even fight the other clear claimant to the throne? He's right back to his ducking ways, it seems. He better at least fight Bohachuk at 154 if he's gonna quack out of this one. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for the Stanionis fight, but if you're going to avoid a fight like the Ortiz fight saying your goal was undisputed, then duck the other big threat in the division when it comes available, it really clarifies things.

Ennis turned down Ortiz when he still thought he could become Undisputed; he fought Stanionis in a unification. Ortiz was supposedly in talks with Crawford/Fundora before Ennis was thrown into the mix. It's crystal clear that Undisputed is a fool's errand, especially if he's having trouble making 147. He has to deal with Norman/Barrios/Rolly, in addition to Giyasov who's waiting for his opportunity.

I'm not going to complain about Ennis moving up when it's what we've all been saying he should do. I've been saying I want Ennis to go after Lubin/Murtazaliev while Ortiz goes after Fundora. You know what fans will say if Ennis looks like shxt at 147? HE SHOULD'VE MOVED UP!

[kiaba360]

That sucks. Norman should move to 154 too.

I don't care about him fighting Barrios and Rolly.

Norman is 23, and he probably won't move up until his body forces him to. His team hopes to get the 140lbers moving up.

[crimsonfalcon07]

Ennis turned down Ortiz when he still thought he could become Undisputed; he fought Stanionis in a unification. Ortiz was supposedly in talks with Crawford/Fundora before Ennis was thrown into the mix. It's crystal clear that Undisputed is a fool's errand, especially if he's having trouble making 147. He has to deal with Norman/Barrios/Rolly, in addition to Giyasov who's waiting for his opportunity.

I'm not going to complain about Ennis moving up when it's what we've all been saying he should do. I've been saying I want Ennis to go after Lubin/Murtazaliev while Ortiz goes after Fundora. You know what fans will say if Ennis looks like shxt at 147? HE SHOULD'VE MOVED UP!

Depends on who he fights. What if it's someone like Charles Conwell, Liam Walsh, or maybe Conor Benn or Keith Thurman. Or maybe someone without even that much name recognition? Is that going to be a better fight that proves more than fighting Norman? Barrios is fighting Pacquiao, and if Barrios wins, he's still the weakest champion, while if Pacquiao wins, he'll either vacate and Ennis may be able to petition for a shot, or he'll get overconfident and want a shot at undisputed vs the winner of Ennis/Norman. You gonna be happy if he moves up and languishes as a contender for the next couple years "acclimating to the weight" and then goes for titles after Crawford retires, Ortiz and Murtazaliev lose or move up, etc? We don't know who he's going to fight, and just being in the division doesn't mean anything.

What does mean something is that he turned down a contract vs Ortiz, just as he's turned down contracts vs Crawford in the past, ostensibly to chase undisputed, and now he's "not interested in that any more." It was such an important dream that he turned down a huge contract vs Ortiz that would have put him in immediate title contention at 154, and now that Norman doesn't have a fight lined up and Ortiz isn't available, and there's a line for the other belts, now he wants to move up? Let's see who he fights next. It had better not be someone lesser than Norman, is all I'm saying.

[kiaba360]

Depends on who he fights. What if it's someone like Charles Conwell, Callum Walsh, or maybe Conor Benn or Keith Thurman. Or maybe someone without even that much name recognition? Is that going to be a better fight that proves more than fighting Norman? Barrios is fighting Pacquiao, and if Barrios wins, he's still the weakest champion, while if Pacquiao wins, he'll either vacate and Ennis may be able to petition for a shot, or he'll get overconfident and want a shot at undisputed vs the winner of Ennis/Norman. You gonna be happy if he moves up and languishes as a contender for the next couple years "acclimating to the weight" and then goes for titles after Crawford retires, Ortiz and Murtazaliev lose or move up, etc? We don't know who he's going to fight, and just being in the division doesn't mean anything.

What does mean something is that he turned down a contract vs Ortiz, just as he's turned down contracts vs Crawford in the past, ostensibly to chase undisputed, and now he's "not interested in that any more." It was such an important dream that he turned down a huge contract vs Ortiz that would have put him in immediate title contention at 154, and now that Norman doesn't have a fight lined up and Ortiz isn't available, and there's a line for the other belts, now he wants to move up? Let's see who he fights next. It had better not be someone lesser than Norman, is all I'm saying.

Boxers tend to make a crucial mistake: they wait until they lose or have a very bad performance before moving up. Ennis is arguably making the correct move by moving up after a good performance. Yes he'll have to start over and fight a contender like Lubin or Tellez and that's how boxing should work imho, but the alternative is to roll the dice and try to make 147lb again. Ennis is not in the same position as Raymond Ford; someone with lower marquee value who felt he couldn't turn down the opportunity vs. Nick Ball, but was already having trouble making weight vs. Kholmatov. Is fighting Norman a big enough opportunity to justify the weight-cutting risks? If he beats Norman, does Undisputed actually seem attainable? If Ennis/Norman is made, I'm definitely watching. But moving up seems like the most logical move. We knew Undisputed was a lost cause when he had to fight Chukhadzhian a 2nd time. If WW collectively gave a shxt about Undisputed, we've would been getting unifications consistently. Ennis seemed to be the only one with that objective, and Team Norman hoped to take advantage of Ennis' ambition. Now Ennis is moving up and Norman will take Ennis' place as the guy nobody wants to fight. He'll have to build his name the way GGG did: beating up anybody who decides to step in the ring.

Although I'm not really interested in any of the names you mentioned, Benn/Ennis is a bigger match-up than Ennis/Norman. Ennis/Thurman may even be a bigger match-up too. Let's not pretend like Norman beating Sasaki in a small venue in Japan improves his marquee value.

The Ortiz match-up hasn't disappeared, and I assume Turki is still interested in it. Ortiz is not some injured party who lost out on a big opportunity because Ennis messed him around (i.e. Ortiz vs. Stanionis). It was Ortiz' fight date, and they found a solid opponent in Madrimov. No harm no foul. I'm confused as to how Ennis/Ortiz is spoken about more than Ortiz/Fundora, when it's Fundora who holds the title Ortiz should be gunning for. It seems like a tacit admission that Fundora/Ortiz is not likely. Both parties seem to be in no rush to make it happen.