Who won Usyk vs Briedis?

Oleksandr Usyk beat Mairis Briedis by majority decision in their 12 round contest on Saturday 27th January 2018 at Arena Riga in Riga.

The scorecards were announced as 113-115, 114-114, 113-115 in favor of winner Oleksandr Usyk.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Cruiserweight division, which meant the weight limit was 200 pounds (14.3 stone or 90.7 KG).

This was a semi final of the World Boxing Super Series.

This contest was for the unified cruiserweight championship of the world, with the WBC & WBO belts on the line.

Usyk vs Briedis stats

Mairis Briedis stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 23 wins, zero loses and 0 draws.

Oleksandr Usyk made his way to the ring with an unblemished record of 13 wins and 0 draws.

Mairis Briedis was the older man by 2 years, at 38 years old.

Usyk had a height advantage of 2 inches over Briedis. That also extended to a 3-inch reach advantage.

Mairis Briedis fought out of the orthodox stance, while Oleksandr Usyk was a southpaw.

Briedis was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 10 more fights, and made his debut in 2009, 4 years earlier than Usyk, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 1 less professional rounds, 167 to Usyk's 168.

Usyk vs Briedis form

Briedis had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 4 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Marco Huck on 1st April 2017 by unanimous decision in their WBC World Cruiserweight championship fight at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany.

Previous to that, he had won against Simon Vallily on 15th October 2016 by technical knockout in the 3rd round at Echo Arena, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Going into that contest, he had beat Olanrewaju Durodola on 14th May 2016 by technical knockout in the 9th round at Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia.

Before that, he had defeated Danie Venter on 21st February 2016 by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Arena Riga, Riga.

He had won against Laszlo Hubert on 6th November 2015 by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Palais, Frankfurt, Germany.

Usyk remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Anthony Joshua on 25th September 2021 by unanimous decision in their WBA Super World Heavyweight, IBF World Heavyweight and WBO World Heavyweight championship fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had defeated Derek Chisora on 31st October 2020 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Wembley (SSE) Arena, London.

Going into that contest, he had beat Chazz Witherspoon on 12th October 2019 by technical knockout in the 7th round at Wintrust Arena, Illinois, United States.

Before that, he had won against Tony Bellew on 10th November 2018 by knockout in the 8th round in their WBA Super World Cruiserweight, WBC World Cruiserweight, IBF World Cruiserweight and WBO World Cruiserweight championship fight at Manchester Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

He had beat Murat Gassiev on 21st July 2018 by unanimous decision in their IBF World Cruiserweight, WBA Super World Cruiserweight, WBC World Cruiserweight and WBO World Cruiserweight championship fight at Olimpiyskiy, Moscow, Russia.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Oleksandr Usyk had been fighting more than Mairis Briedis.

Going to this contest, Mairis Briedis had last fought 5 years, 11 months and 22 days ago, while Oleksandr Usyk's last outing had been 1 year, 5 months and 26 days ago.

Briedis' last 5 fights had come over a period of 7 years, 4 months and 17 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 5 months and 22 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 28 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 5.6 rounds on average.

Usyk's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 8 months and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 51 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 10.2 rounds on average.

What time did Usyk vs Briedis start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 PM UTC at Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia, which was 5:00 PM EST or 2:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 10:00 PM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Usyk vs Briedis?

Usyk vs Briedis was broadcast on ITV Box Office Free-to-Air in the UK.

What were the odds on Usyk vs Briedis?

Mairis Briedis was a 4/1 (+400) underdog going into the contest, while Oleksandr Usyk made his way into the ring at 17/100 (-590) with oddsmakers.