Brian Norman Jr. wants a unification fight against WBC interim champ Mario Barrios next following his tenth-round knockout win over Giovanni Santillan last Saturday night in San Diego, California.
Title Upgrades on the Horizon
Norman Jr. (26-0, 23 KOs) claimed the vacant WBO interim welterweight title together with his two-knockdown win over Santillan (32-1, 17 KOs), and that belt goes to be upgraded soon to the total WBO 147-lb title once Terence Crawford vacates.
Norman Jr., 23, credits Crawford for helping him during their sparring work, and he used the things he learned to defeat the previously unbeaten Santillan last weekend of their fight on the Pechanga Arena.
The Golden Boy-promoted Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) will likely be upgraded to full WBC 147-lb champion soon when Crawford vacates or is stripped.
It’s unclear whether Barrios’ management will wish to face the hard-hitting Norman Jr. because it will be a dangerous fight for them and never value quite a lot of money.
If Barrios is counting on holding onto his WBC title, waiting for Devin Haney to maneuver up, or taking a giant money offer from Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn for a unification fight against IBF champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, he may not be serious about fighting Norman.
Norman Jr.’s Call for a Unification Bout
“I would really like to get Mario Barrios. I believe he just won some interim belt. When Crawford vacates, I’m coming over there. I need Barrios,” said Brian Norman Jr. to the media about wanting to fight WBC interim welterweight champion Mario Barrios next following his tenth round knockout win over Giovanni Santillan last Saturday night to assert the WBO interim 147-lb belt on ESPN.
“I do know he’s a workhorse, but he’s got to push himself,” said Norman about Santillan. “I noticed each time in round six, he starts falling back. To start with, I used to be attempting to feel him out and get my timing down. It’s a mental thing. Regardless of what, round six, he starts to decelerate.
“That’s why I used to be talking to him. ‘You ain’t got nothing. You possibly can’t push me back.’ Within the [Alexis] Rocha fight, he just straight caught Rocha. So, I had to offer just a little fight back and let him know, ‘I’m a person such as you. I’m more of a person than you.’ I just kept pushing him. Right hand down the pipe, and he couldn’t do nothing about it.
“I used to be hitting him with every thing and he just kept on coming. He was leaking real bad. I used to be talking to him then. ‘Come on.’ He just said, ‘Come on, mother f****,’” said Norman about Santillan.
