Boxer lands brutal one-punch KO of the year contender after 40 unanswered strikes

Jin Sasaki delivered an early knockout of the Year contender earlier this week.

The Japanese boxer came up against Marlon Pagalpalan in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday as he looked to bounce back from his own stoppage loss to former WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. last June.

Pagalpalan came out of the gates looking to force the action, and in the second round, he teed off on Sasaki with 40 unanswered punches.

Most of the shots landed on Sasaki’s guard as the former world title challenger covered and waited for his moment to strike.

With the Filipino boxer in full flow, Sasaki countered with a lightning-fast left hook to render Pagalpalan unconscious.

Sasaki’s record now stands at 20-2-1 following his knockout win as he returns to winning ways, eight months removed from his defeat to Norman Jr.

WBO knockout

Norman Jr. successfully defended his WBO welterweight title last summer, having twice knocked Sasaki down in the first round before ending the clash in the fifth round, though the 25-year-old did drop his title to Devin Haney in November.

The fight itself saw Sasaki lose six weeks’ worth of memories in one of the most brutal knockouts of the year

Referee Gustavo Tomas didn’t initially notice that the 24-year-old had been knocked out by Norman Jr., and it wasn’t until halfway through the count that he put an end to the fight.

“It was a wonderful fight,” Norman Jr. said in his post-fight interview.

“I had a very great opponent in front of me. Y’all seen that he got heart.

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“That boy is not a slouch at all, and I give nothing but props to him. I love y’all over here in Japan, and I will gladly come back.”

Norman Jr. then praised Sasaki for getting off the canvas twice and fighting back.

“I mean, you seen it for yourself. He proved himself,” the American continued.

“It’s a reason why he made it to this standard. It’s a reason why he got all these fans that came out with him.

“So, he fought with a whole lotta heart, he fought with a whole lotta dog, and he showed the reason why he will be a future world champion.

“It’s just it’s other belts out there, and I believe he will get those belts.”