Brian Norman hadn’t left the United States before Wednesday.

The unbeaten WBO welterweight champion happily accepted a title defense in Japanese contender Jin Sasaki’s home country soon after he retained his belt March 29 in Las Vegas. Norman knew, though, that it would require leaving his comfort zone in suburban Atlanta plenty early.

The Conyers, Georgia, resident will spend two full weeks in Tokyo prior to facing Sasaki on June 19 in a 12-round, 147-pound championship clash ESPN+ will stream from Ota City General Gymnasium.

“I’ve gotta play it safe,” Norman told The Ring. “It’s an 11-hour time difference from where [I live]. I ain’t tryin’ to play no games. It’s the food and the time difference. Other than that, I’ve got everything squared away. If I need to run, just go outside. If I need to work out, all I need is the space and the opportunity. All I need to do is to get adjusted to the food and that time difference and I’m straight.”

The bout between Norman (27-0, 21 KOs, 1 NC) and Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs) will take place less than three months after his third-round stoppage of Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-2-1, 19 KOs) at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. It is welcomed activity after a surgical procedure on his left hand in October, partially caused a 10-month layoff from the time he won his WBO belt by knocking out Giovani Santillan (34-1, 18 KOs) in the 10th round in May 2024 and his first title defense versus Cuevas.

The hard-hitting Norman, 24, is also looking forward to fighting in Japan, where boxing is popular, yet crowds tend to be less aggressive toward visiting fighters.

“I love that about them,” Norman said. “Everything over there is just real calm and cool, and real respectful. When you go to the other parts of the world, it’s the exact opposite. ‘Punch him in the nuts! Poke a eyeball out!’ I don’t know what they be on.”

Sasaki, 23, has fought only once outside of Japan as a professional, six years ago in Bangkok, Thailand. Comfortability figures to be an advantage for Sasaki, though that doesn’t bother Norman one bit.

“Everything is for him, so he’s gonna be his best self,” Norman said. “I like fighting people when they’re their best self. He’s very, very comfortable over there. He is at home. He is at peace with himself over there. So now, I get to go over there and get to show that this is your best you, but you are still not worthy.”

Norman is The Ring’s No. 1 contender for its welterweight champ, Jaron “Boots” Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs, 1 NC), who owns the IBF and WBA belts as well. Sasaki occupies the No. 6 spot in The Ring’s ratings.