The third time will hopefully be the charm Yuniel Dorticos…
The World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight finals between the 34-year-old Cuban professional boxer and Latvia’s Mairis Briedis has been rescheduled for September 26 at the Plazamedia broadcasting center in Munich, Germany, according to Kalle Sauerland, chief boxing officer for the WBSS.
The fight, which matches ESPN‘s top two rated cruiserweights, has been postponed twice because of the coronavirus pandemic. The bout was originally scheduled for March 21, and then for May 16.
“It’s the biggest fight in boxing since the coronavirus outbreak. I can’t think of any other fight that’s bigger than this one,” Sauerland told ESPN on Tuesday. “It’s for the Muhammad Ali Trophy, the finals of the second season of the World Boxing Super Series, and it’s a sign that boxing is back.
“There’s been some great boxing on, but there hasn’t been a No. 1 versus No. 2 in the division, which this is.”
Dorticos (24-1, 22 KOs), the IBF belt holder, reached the finals by scoring a unanimous decision victory against Mateusz Masternak in October 2018 and a 10th-round KO win over Andrew Tabiti in June 2019. Breidis scored a unanimous decision victory over Noel Gevor in November 2018 and a third round stoppage of Krzysztof Glowacki last summer.
“[The event] will be completely behind closed doors — we’re under very strict supervision by the local authorities,” Sauerland said.
Since Breidis is from Latvia and Breidis is based in Miami, there were some logistical hurdles that had to be climbed as both will travel to Germany for this event, which will be streamed on DAZN.
“It’s taken a lot of energy in the background, both teams have been great, very supportive of all the information we’ve needed. It’s really been an effort,” Sauerland said. “As a fan, I’m just looking forward to seeing big-time boxing back. What more can I say?”
