Usyk vs Briedis

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

Back in January 2018, 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 33 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 10 less professional rounds, 167 to Usyk's 177.

Usyk vs Briedis form

Briedis had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 3 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Mike Perez on 30th September 2017 by unanimous decision in their WBC World Cruiserweight championship fight at Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia.

Previous to that, he had won against Marco Huck on 1st April 2017 by unanimous decision in their WBC World Cruiserweight championship fight at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany.

Going into that contest, he had beat Simon Vallily on 15th October 2016 by technical knockout in the 3rd round at Echo Arena, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had defeated Olanrewaju Durodola on 14th May 2016 by technical knockout in the 9th round at Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia.

He had won against Danie Venter on 21st February 2016 by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Arena Riga, Riga.

Usyk remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Marco Huck on 9th September 2017 by technical knockout in the 10th round in their WBO World Cruiserweight championship fight at Max Schmeling Halle, Berlin, Germany.

Previous to that, he had defeated Michael Hunter on 8th April 2017 by unanimous decision in their WBO World Cruiserweight championship fight at MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, United States.

Going into that contest, he had beat Thabiso Mchunu on 17th December 2016 by knockout in the 9th round in their WBO World Cruiserweight championship fight at Forum, Inglewood.

Before that, he had won against Krzysztof Glowacki on 17th September 2016 by unanimous decision in their WBO World Cruiserweight championship fight at Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland.

He had beat Pedro Rodriguez on 12th December 2015 by technical knockout in the 7th round at Sport Palace, Kiev, Ukraine.

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Mairis Briedis had last fought 3 months and 28 days ago, while Oleksandr Usyk's last outing had been 4 months and 18 days ago.

Briedis' last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 11 months and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 21 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 38 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7.6 rounds on average.

Usyk's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 1 month and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 4 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 50 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 10 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.