IBF Cruiserweight World Champion Murat Gassiev is full of praise for both Mairis Briedis and Mike Perez.
Murat Gassiev watched with interest as Mairis Briedis defeated Mike Perez via unanimous decision in the World Boxing Super Series in Riga, Latvia on Saturday night.
And the Russian IBF World Champion is full of praise for both combatants and fellow participants in the Ali Trophy cruiserweight tournament.
WBC Champion Mairis Briedis (90,1 kg) (22-0, 18 KOs) and Mike Perez (22-2-1, 14 KOs) (89,5 kg) are ready for Saturday’s Ali Trophy quarter-final at the Arena Riga, Latvia. “I can’t wait for tomorrow,” said Briedis, the WBC champion who was supported by a loud crowd of Latvian countrymen at Friday’s weigh-in Riga.
“Every fighter in this to tournament deserves to be here. I am not an odds maker, so I don’t do predictions. I can only promise that I will do my best to win in front of a sold-out arena and make my countrymen proud!”
WBC World Champion Mairis Briedis (22-0, 18 KOs) and Mike Perez (22-2-1, 14 KOs) faced each other at a press conference in Riga ahead of Saturday’s Ali Trophy Quarter-Final clash at Arena Riga, Latvia.
“It is a great honour for me and for Latvia to have such a big fight and tournament in our country,” said Briedis.
“I am looking forward to showing that Latvia is not only a country with singers and dancers, but also some world class boxing. There are some pressure on my shoulders fighting in front of a sold out arena, but I am sure I can handle it.”
Briedis and Perez face to face in Riga before September 30
WBC World Champion Mairis Briedis (22-0, 18 KOs) came face to face with Mike Perez (22-2-1, 14 KOs) in Riga before their Ali Trophy quarter-final bout at the Riga Arena, September 30.
“I feel good, I am ready to go, I am ready to fight right now,” said Mike Perez. “This is a really interesting fight and I am looking forward to it and getting the victory. Whatever the fight brings I am ready for it.”
Mairis Briedis (22-0, 18 KOs) took the game but limited Marco Huck (40-4-1, 27 KOs) to school tonight in pounding out a dominating 12 round unanimous decision to win the vacant World Boxing Council cruiserweight title in front of a large crowd of Huck supporters at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany.
Former 200-pound limit champion Marco Huck meets the new kid on the block Mairis Briedis, for a WBC cruiserweight title fight. The fight being upgraded due to Tony Bellew’s absents is a nice boost for the fighters. More importantly, Huck’s career is on the line against what some have branded one of the next generation cruisers.
Official results from the Weigh in from Dortmund, Germany, for the WBC cruiserweight championship of the world:
Marco Huck – 90,5 kg – 199,5 lb
Mairis Briedis – 90,5 kg – 199,5 lb
Christina Hammer – 72,0 kg – 158,73 lb
Maria Lindbergh – 70,0 kg – 154,32 lb
Marco Huck: „I always want to win by Knockout!“
The decision of the World Boxing Council to confirm that the bout between Marco Huck and Mairis Briedis at April 1st in Dortmund, Germany, will be for the WBC cruiserweight championship of the world was the main topic at the press conference today.
“From my childhood it was a dream for me to fight for the green belt of the WBC”, Marco Huck said. “Now this dream comes true. It is a maximum motivation for me.”
Champion Captain Huck after his fight with broken hand – “Ulli Wegner made me to an Indian brave!”
One and a half week till showdown – IBO champion Marco “Captain“ Huck fight at 1st of April with Mairis Briedis in Dortmund, Germany, for the WBC Cruiserweight title.
Huck worked very hard in the training camp in Braunlage, Niedersachsen, with his new trainer Oktay Urkal. The preparation with the former Olympic medalist was special because of Huck had broken the metacarpal bone in the last fight with Dmitro Kutcher in November 2016. But the injury is healed now and the bone is able to work under pressure.
This week’s schedule is packed so tight with cruiserweight bouts that some good ones will probably be overlooked. Tonight’s card in Moscow which was supposed to be headlined by the heavyweight showdown between Deontay Wilder and Alexander Povetkin will go on with three cruiserweight bouts now headlined by Denis Lebedev. Beibut Shumenov will fight Junior Wright in Las Vegas with the WBA title at stake. There were two other interesting fights in the same weight class preceding the mainstream shows that deserve to be mentioned and were well worth watching.