Jai Opetaia Encounters Late Drama vs. Mairis Briedis on Fury-Usyk Undercard

On Saturday, May 18, on the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, we saw Jai Opetaia (24-0, 19 KOs) confirm his dominance at cruiserweight as he defeated the brave and experienced Latvian Mairis Briedis (28-2, 20 KOs). Earlier, we saw Agit Kabayel Dominate Frank Sanchez, and Mark Chamberlain show again – why he is the favourite fighter of Turki Alalshikh. The entire card was available on a variety of platforms on PPV, including DAZN, Sky Sports, TNT Sports and PPV.com.

Jai Opetaia Defeats Mairis Briedis by Unanimous Decision

Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Briedis Recap

The opening round was cagey, with Opetaia the one looking to engage while showcasing his impressive lateral movement. The second round saw the Australian land a quick left hand, which seemed to hurt the Latvian. Opetaia refused to rush his work and continued to control the distance with his excellent footwork in round three.

It was comfortable for Opetaia as round five began, and that dominance continued as he used his impressive footwork to control the distance. In round six, a cracking left hand from the Australian seemed to break his opponent’s nose. Opetaia continued to land spiteful shots for the rest of the round.

The following two rounds saw Briedis have some success with single shots, but Opetaia took them well. The Australian still looked light on his feet and seems to have more gears in him. As we entered the championship rounds, both fighters had blood pouring from their noses. Briedis seemed to hurt Opetaia at the end of round ten and landed more great shots in 11. The Australian fighter seemed to have the energy drained from him but continued to move well and navigated a difficult last round.

The final three rounds were fantastic, and the two fighters met in the ring and the judges scorecards were 117-111 and 116-112×2, crowing Opetaia the IBF cruiserweight king once again.

Post Fight Quotes

In the post fight interview: “I’m honoured to share the ring with a champion like that. I watched this guy when I was coming through the cruiserweight ranks. I used to idolise this guy… he’s a true warrior. I’ve got nothing but respect. Thank you, Mairis.”

“Thank you Saudi Arabia for having us.”

“I want the WBO next.”