Former Cruiserweight Champ Mairis Briedis Announces Retirement

Briedis was initially recognized in combat sports as a kickboxer. He claimed Latvian and European titles between 2008 and 2011 but also began his professional boxing career in 2009. A four-round unanimous-decision victory over Lithuanian debutant Rails Racilauskas in his native Riga would begin his storied career. Having amassed a record of 16-0 (13 KOs) largely under the radar in his homeland, Briedis would move up to heavyweight to face Mahmoud Charr in what was meant to be a tick-over bout for the on-off WBA heavyweight regular champion. It would end in disaster for the Syrian-born German in the Chechen capital of Grozny, with Briedis producing a fifth-round knockout victory.

However, he would return to cruiserweight to take ranking fights with Daniel Venter and Olanrewaju Durodola, ending in knockout wins. A world title chance against Marco Huck came in 2017 with the vacant WBC title on the line. On away territory in Dortmund, Germany, Briedis would snatch the belt with a unanimous decision victory over the former champion to become Latvia’s first-ever world titlist.

Briedis would sign up for the cruiserweight version of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS), which would include fellow champions Oleksandr Usyk [WBO], Murat Gassiev [IBF] and Yuniel Dorticos [WBA]. He would overcome Cuba’s Mike Perez over the distance in the opening quarter-final stage of the tournament. Usyk would come to Riga in a unification in the semi-final. It would be the first defeat of Briedis’ career, losing a razor-thin majority decision.

The World Boxing Super Series would return for a second season, helping Briedis join the concept again. He defeated Krzysztof Glowacki in the semi-final in a madness-filled three rounds. Following a rabbit punch from his Polish opponent, Breidis would strike him with an elbow to the jaw in the second round and would be deducted a point, but an extra 30 seconds were accidentally added to the round where a recovering Glowacki would hit the canvas. It would take just 26 seconds after the break for Briedis to finish the job in a fight marred with controversy. The WBO would eventually relinquish Briedis’ title. However, he would win the tournament and claim the IBF belt from Yuniel Dorticos in the final, winning by majority decision.

Following a routine defense against Artur Mann in 2021, Briedis would lose his IBF title in a Fight of the Year contender against Jai Opetaia in Gold Coast, Australia. Briedis would break his nose, and Opetaia would receive a double broken jaw. A long-awaited rematch would finally come on the Usyk Vs Tyson Fury undercard in May. Opetaia would again take the unanimous decision victory in a much less blood-soaked contest.  Ahead of his rematch with Opetaia, Briedis told me, “It will probably be my last fight.”