Brian Norman Jr. hopes his rescheduled welterweight title defense leads him back toward the 147-pound championship unification fight he wants.

The Ring has learned Norman’s 12-round fight with Derrieck Cuevas has been rescheduled for March 29 in Las Vegas. ESPN will air Norman-Cuevas as promoter Top Rank’s co-feature the night of the WBO women’s welterweight championship rematch between champion Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan at Fontainebleau.

Norman (26-0, 20 KOs) – a hard-hitting, fan-friendly fighter from Conyers, Georgia – was supposed to oppose Puerto Rico’s Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) on November 8 at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. The 24-year-old Norman needed more time, however, for his left hand to heal from an injury he sustained while training in July.

Norman, whose hands have given him trouble for much of his seven-year pro career, had surgery on his left hand last June. He previously underwent surgery on his right hand in June 2023.

His fight versus Cuevas will mark Norman’s first fight since he won his WBO belt by knocking out Giovani Santillan (33-1, 18 KOs) in the 10th round of their bloody, back-and-forth battle last May 18 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Santillan’s hometown.

Norman’s handlers negotiated with British promoter Eddie Hearn in an attempt last summer to land a championship unification clash with IBF champ Jaron “Boots” Ennis. Dissatisfied with what would’ve been a career-high purse in excess of $1.5 million, Norman went in a different direction.

Philadelphia’s Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs, 1 NC) is scheduled to battle WBA champ Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) in another championship unification fight April 12 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Ennis-Stanionis is expected to be announced Friday morning during a press conference in Las Vegas.

Cuevas has won each of his four bouts by knockout since he lost a six-round split decision to Damian Ezequiel (then 23-8) in December 2020 in Miami.

As for Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs), she will make her first defense of the WBO women’s 147-pound crown she won when she defeated England’s Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) by majority decision in a fantastic action fight September 27 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Ring’s Jake Donovan first reported Monday that the Mayer-Ryan rematch was set for March 29 in Las Vegas.