Mairis Briedis promoter Kalle Sauerland told Boxing Social that the deposed IBF and Ring magazine cruiser champion is aiming for a quick comeback after his defeat to Jai Opetaia…
As promoter Kalle Sauerland spoke to Boxing Social on Sunday, he still appeared frightened by the barbaric spectacle perpetrated by Mairis Briedis and Jai Opetaia the previous day at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Queensland, Australia. for the cruiser titles of IBF and Ring magazines.
“The war is an absolute war.”
“When you have one gladiator with a broken jaw and the other with a broken nose, that says all you need to know about the brutality of the fight, how tough the fight is and they are two gladiators. absolute – one is very young and promising gladiator and the other is the master lion. “
37-year-old Briedis struggled to find his rhythm early as Aussie’s emerging Opetaia sped up to take the lead, parrying the champ’s nose and knocking out a powerful headbutt in the fourth round. disoriented Briedis and went to the wrong angle of the bell.
However, the champion returned to the competition in the second half of the fight, with Opetaia sometimes being grimly suspended to survive the final few minutes. Only after the end of the competition was it discovered that a Briedis The upper cut in the second round broke the Australian jawbone.
Sauerland’s gave his assessment of the war:
“It’s a little story about two halves.”
“Down on the pitch – for me – Briedis did enough to get a draw. He let Opetaia stand on his own two feet and hold on tight. But all credit to Jay Opetaia, a great performance. Mairis was impressed with him. And maybe the old lion even ignored him for a bit. “
Turning his attention to the possibility of a rematch, Sauerland revealed:
“Now there will be discussions about the rematch but I think they [the Opetaia camp] It will take another week to assess the situation.”
“Opetaia has clearly broken his jaw twice more than I have been told so he could be sidelined for a very long time. Mairis wants to fight very quickly again. So we’ll have to see where things go.”
Although Briedis is now 37 years old, retirement – according to Sauerland – is far from what Latvians think:
“Obviously we now have a big new player in the cruiser class in Opetaia who showed up last night, but I still believe that Mairis – if not the top – is definitely a among the very top.”
“In terms of pedigree, he is probably still at the top of the list. He told me this morning that his goal is to be a four-time cruiser class world champion, I think that says it all.”
