It might be surprising to many. Even though it’s been six years since he started boxing, not many would have come across Brian Norman Jr.‘s name. Till recently an interim welterweight title holder, Norman Jr. has grabbed major headlines upon his elevation as WBO’s full champion.

The promotion undeniably comes with responsibility, one of them being title defense. Then there’s title unification if the Georgian wants to follow in Terence Crawford‘s footsteps at 147 pounds. But a move in that direction puts him in direct sight of Jaron ‘Boot’ Ennis. As the young boxer vows to stir up the weight class, fans are eager to see him first address the challenge posed by ‘Boots’.

Brian Norman Jr., on the roll

Through their official Twitter handle, Top Rank congratulated Brian Norman Jr. “Congrats to @OfficialBNorman, who has been elevated from interim status and is new WBO Welterweight world champion Title defense number one,” the post read. The newly crowned champion responded swiftly, “Time to shake up the division.“

The 23-year-old boxer from Georgia made waves early this year with his knockout win over Giovanni Santillan on the Emanuel Navarrete–Denys Berinchyk card on May 18. Last year, on the Shakur Stevenson–Edwin De Los Santos show, he defeated Texan Quinton Randall unanimously to secure the WBO’s international welterweight belt. His first title defense was declared a no-context. Nevertheless, Brian Norman Jr. was ready for bigger tasks.

The latest development follows Terence Crawford’s decision to part with the WBO belt that he held as a unified welterweight champion. On August 3, Crawford defeated Israil Madrimov, which made him a WBA light middleweight champion. Additionally, he became an interim WBO titleholder as well. There are good enough reasons that the Nebraskan might want to stay back and go for the undisputed legacy in a third division. Nevertheless, his latest move has a cascading effect on the 147 pound division.

The Ultimate test

Many who responded back to Brian Norman Jr. had one common thing to say: the matchup with Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. Let’s check what some of them had to say.

Dismissing Brian Norman Jr.’s suggestion to transform the welterweight division, this fan would rather prefer him walk the talk by facing Jaron Ennis.

Echoing similar sentiments, to the next fan also, unless Norman Jr. shows willingness to exchange jabs with either ‘Boots’ Ennis or Eimantas Stanionis, his future plans won’t be taken seriously.

The following fan also challenged Brian Norman Jr. to first deal with the Jaron Ennis business if he wants to prove his intention to rejig the 147-pound weight class.

Consistent with the common theme, another fan in the initial Top Rank tweet congratulated Norman Jr. for his title elevation. But they also suggested that he needs to take on the might of Jaron Ennis. Only a unification clash would help him leave a big mark on the landscape.

Finally, there appeared a user who deviated from the recurring motif and replaced Jaron Ennis’ name with Teofimo Lopez. According to the user, a PPV fight between the two, alongside a potent undercard, could go a long way in creating a blockbuster of an event.

Given the directs he has been receiving, it seems Brian Norman Jr.’s next steps toward a boxing legacy could be a predetermined destiny.

With Terence Crawford not out of the picture, Jaron Ennis might have become the star attraction of the welterweight division. His dream of a fight with Crawford might remain unfilled, at least for the time being. The Philadelphian could proceed with title unification. Who knows, he might follow in Crawford’s footsteps to become the division’s next undisputed champion! Either way, a clash with Brian Norman Jr. would be imminent. Fans would be eagerly watching out for further developments taking place in the weight class.

Who would be your pick for the win if the Ennis-Norman Jr. match comes up?