WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) will be looking to make up for lost time when he returns to the ring after a near one-year layoff to defend against fringe contender Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in the 12-round chief support bout on the Mikaela Mayer vs. Sandy Ryan 2 card this Saturday, March 29, at the BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Saturday night’s event will be shown live on ESPN and ESPN+, beginning at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT.

In Brian Norman Jr’s last fight, he knocked out previously unbeaten Giovanni Santillan in the tenth round on May 19, 2024. Santillan (33-1, 18 KOs) was dropped twice in the tenth round and was a bloody mess from the powerful shots that Brian was hitting him with.

Year of Waiting

Norman Jr, 24, invested a lot of time trying to negotiate a fight with IBF champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis but came up empty-handed after he was unable to agree to the money offered. According to Brian Norman Sr., they were willing to agree to the offer from Matchroom if the fight were in neutral territory, but they weren’t going to accept it for fighting in Boots’ hometown at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelpia.

“It’s been almost one year since he’s been in the ring for his first title defense. I think he wants to go out and show the world why he’s world champion,” said Top Rank gym manager Frank Stea about Brian Norman Jr. “On March 29th, I think it’s clinche, but I think he’s going to make that statement to say he’s #1 in the division.”

There had been talk of Teofimo Lopez moving up to welterweight to challenge Brian Norman Jr. for his WBO belt, but he was looking for a bigger game, wanting a fight against Terence Crawford or Jaron Ennis.

“He brings power, skills, agility if you watch him,” said Brian Norman Sr. about his son, Brian Jr. “We try to cover all bases. We try to make sure we have something for everything, whether it’s timing or speed. If you can get faster, then that’s what timing it comes in at.”

“You still won’t see it in this fight,” said Norman Jr. about him not showing his true best against Cuevas. “Maybe one day, y’all will see the best. Who knows? Who’s next? I already beat your other King. Send me somebody else all time. I’ll take that one, too. I’m ready to show out. Vegas is the spot to be in.

“Respect his power. You ain’t just going to walk him down. You’re going to respect his power,” said Norman Sr. about his son. “Again, we make sure we cover all bases. So far, we’ve got all this covered.”