WBO Master of the World Wale Voivodeship, Brian Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 Kos), he shot three knocking out in the fifth round of Jin Sasaki (19-2-1, 17 KO) on Thursday evening at OTA-CITY General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
The enlarged Sasaki was later carried out from the ring. The time of detention took place at 0:46 seconds of the fifth round planned 12 rounds.
Sasaki knocked out in Tokyo
In the first round, in a few seconds, the left hook on the chin from Norman dropped Sasaki into 8-story from judge Gustavo Tomas. Halfway, Norman landed straight on the chin, and Sasaki went to the second time for the second time from Judge Tomas.
In the third round Norman continued to lead Sasaki around the ring. In the fourth round Norman landed on the chin. Sasaki fought well, having Norman against the rope at the end of the round, in the close round. In the fifth round a cruel left hand from Norman on the chin, and on the backpack Sasaki on the back. Sasaki was on canvas for a few minutes before he got up on a stretcher and was taken out of the ring.
Cristian from Southpaw No. 1 Cristian “The Bomb” Aranet (25-3, 20 KO) lost the 12-round divided decision on the pretender No. 3 OPBF Featherlight Flyight Master, Thanongsak Simsri (39-1, 34 KO), 12-round decision about the free title IBF World Title Flyweight.
In the last thirty seconds of the third round, the Aranent slipped the impact, landing left into the chin, dropping him to 8-hrabit from Judge Nokamor, when Simri’s knee hit the canvas, rising. Simri cut his right eyebrows earlier in the round in a versatile round.
In the sixth round, Aranent cut the left eyebrows and Simsri on the right eyebrow from the third round. In the seventh round of Simsri he had a good round counteracting Southpaw Aranet.
In the tenth round, the cutting of Aranet flowed down his face. In the eleventh round it was an Aneta, which reached mainly to the body. In the twelfth and final round it was Arane, and Simsri finally landed a few blows in the last minute of close fight.
The results are 114-113, 115-112, 116-111.
Sora Tanaka (4-0, 1 KO) stopped Southpaw Takeeru Kobata (14-8-1, 8 KO) at 2:01 Fourth round of planned 12 rounds, for the free semi-edge title OPB.
In the first round the action was furious. Tanaka Kobata went back in the corner for the last minute of the round. In the second round at the end of Kobata was bleeding from her mouth and nose. In the third round, the action did not ponderous down any of the warriors.
In the fourth round of Tanaka he found himself on the Lęg of blows, forcing Judge Takearu Okan to stop.
Yuya eye (8-1-2, 5 KO) lost to Southpaw Riiya Abe (27-4-2, 10 KO) according to the 10-round decision Unanimouus regarding the empty Japanese featherweight plate.
In the first five rounds, Abe had an advantage. From the sixth to ten there was an eye. At the end of the left eyebrows Abe switched badly.
The results are 96-94, 96-94 and 98-92.
Featheweight Southpaw Ren Ohashi (4-0, 4 KO) knocked out Guangheng Luan (13-9-2, 9 KO) at 2:23 fifth round of the planned eight rounds. Koji Tonak was a judge.
The great average weight of Yuito Moriwaki (1-0) defeated Ha So Baek (3-2, 2 KO) in an eight-shaped unanimous decision.
The results were 79-72, 78-73 and 77-74. Toshio Sugiyama was a judge.
The lightweight Seiya Yamaguchi (4-1, 2 KO) defeated Ryosuke Kyuchi (3-4-1, 2 KO) with a four-shaped unanimous decision.
The results were 40-36, 39-36 and 39-36. Shuhai Taraayama was a judge.
However, for a long time it seemed that this would not be an effective defense, and the final came in the 11th round when referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight, which many viewers prematurely believed.
Verhoeven performed well above expectations, causing Usyk numerous problems throughout the fight, but although he recovered from the knockdown, the kickboxing star was stopped on his feet and denied the chance to advance to the 12th round.
Tony Bellew believes Verhoeven should be given a chance to continue his career, but Mexican superstar Canelo does not share the same view.
“It was a good fight, I don’t think so [that it was was an early stoppage]I think they saved a brutal knockout.”
Usyk is expected to take some time before deciding on his next move, with some fans calling for an immediate rematch with Verhoeven while others want him to face mandatory WBC title challenger Agit Kabayel now.
As for Canelo, he will return to action in September and will look to reclaim his world titles when he fights WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.
a biopic chronicling the career of former featherweight champion Prince Naseem Hamed will be released in select U.S. theaters and on VOD on May 22. The film stars Amir El-Masry as Hamed and Pierce Brosnan as his longtime trainer Brendan Ingle, with Sylvester Stallone among the executive producers.
Directed and written by Rowan Athale, it premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2025 and was released in the UK and Ireland on January 9, 2026, before arriving in the Middle East via the Red Sea Film Festival. Vertical holds U.S. distribution rights, and the film was financed by AGC Studios and BondIt Media Capital.
What the movie covers
The plot follows Hamed’s rise from Sheffield, England, to a world title under Ingle, an Irish-born steelworker who ran a boxing gym in a church hall. According to the official description, the film also addresses the racism and Islamophobia that Hamed faced in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s, and also focuses on his relationship with Ingle, who died in 2018.
Collider published an exclusive clip from the film on May 21 featuring Hamed’s 1994 fight against Vincenzo Belcastro. In this fight, Hamed won the European bantamweight title in 12 rounds, which was only his 12th professional contest, which was the beginning of his later career.
The warrior behind the film
Hamed, a southpaw of Yemeni heritage, finished his professional career with a 36-1 record and 31 knockouts while holding featherweight titles in multiple sanctioning bodies throughout the 1990s. Now 51, he was known for his unconventional style, pre-fight showmanship and ring walks that often ended with a fall over the top rope. In 2015, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Following Ingle’s death, Hamed directly attributed his success to his coach Ring that without him he wouldn’t have achieved what he did in sports.
The supporting cast included Toby Stephens as promoter Frank Warren and Katherine Dow Blyton as Alma Ingle. The film lasts 110 minutes.
Rico Verhoeven insists he has proven he belongs in boxing despite an 11th-round loss to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night in Egypt.
The former kickboxing champion pushed Usyk much harder than many expected before the referee stepped in tardy in the fight. At the time of the stoppage, two judges had the fight even at 95-95, with the third having Verhoeven ahead 96-94.
“Yeah, it sucks. I felt like I was so close to shocking the world,” Rico Verhoeven told DAZN Boxing after the fight.
“I want to stay here. I think I showed the world that I can definitely box. Even as a kickboxer they told me, ‘Who is this guy? He can’t do anything. It’ll be four or five rounds,’ but I think after four or five rounds we were pretty even in terms of results.”
“So I think it was a crazy, crazy performance. I felt like I was so close to winning, but it is what it is.”
Verhoeven entered the fight as the main underdog against the undefeated unified heavyweight champion, but his physical pressure, size and willingness to trade caused Usyk to struggle during several early and middle rounds.
The performance immediately changed the discussion about Verhoeven’s future in boxing.
Rather than treat the fight as a one-off, the Dutch heavyweight later made it clear that he planned to continue boxing despite the defeat. His comments also reflected the fierceness of the fight before Usyk finally took control in the championship rounds and forced a stoppage.
For much of the fight, Verhoeven looked much more comfortable than many expected against one of boxing’s greatest champions.
Tomek Galm is a boxing journalist covering the global fight landscape since 2014, specializing in heavyweight analysis, industry trends and fighter psychology.
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