by Cliff Rold

On paper, the road to the Cruiserweight final in the World Boxing Super Series runs through the number one seed, WBO titlist Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk did what he was expected to, defeating Marco Huck in his quarterfinal contest on September 9th. Now we find out who he will face in the semi-finals.

WBC beltholder Mairis Breidis will be fighting in his home country against a fighter whose career seemed already finished in any big way. Mike Perez went from promising heavyweight hopeful to forgotten man when Alexander Povetkin stopped him in one round in 2015. Dropping over 40 pounds in the ensuing two years, Perez returned to the ring in June and has a chance to resurrect his career this weekend.

Briedis has a chance to make people ask what Perez was doing in the field.

Let’s go the report card.

The Ledger

Mairis Briedis

Age: 32

Title: WBC cruiserweight (2017-Present, 1st Attempted Defense)

Previous Titles: None

Height: 6’1

Weight: 198 ½ lbs.

Hails from: Riga, Latvia

Record: 22-0, 18 KO

Record in Title Fights: 1-0

WBSS Seed: 3

Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: Marco Huck UD12

Vs.

Mike Perez

Age: 31

Title/Previous Titles: None

Height: 6’1

Weight: 197 ¼ lbs.

Hails from: Cork, Ireland (Born in Cuba)

Record: 22-2-1, 14 KO, 1 KOBY

Record in Major Title Fights: 1st title opportunity

WBSS Seed: Unseeded

Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: Alexander Povetkin TKO by 1 (Povetkin a former WBA sub-titlist)

Grades

Pre-Fight: Speed – Briedis B; Perez B

Pre-Fight: Power – Briedis B+; Perez B

Pre-Fight: Defense – Briedis B; Perez B-

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Briedis B+; Perez B-

Tournament Format

For those unfamiliar with the structure of the WBSS, only the top four fighters were seeded. The four seeded fighters, in order, are Usyk, IBF titlist Murat Gassiev (24-0, 17 KO), WBC titlist Mairis Briedis (22-0, 18 KO), and Dorticos (21-0, 20 KO). Seeded fighters were allowed to select their opponent from the unseeded pool, with the exception of Gassiev who will fulfill a mandatory against unseeded former titlist Krzyzstof Wlodarczyk (53-3-1, 37 KO), and the fourth seeds got what was left.

Next in the Bracket

As noted above, Usyk awaits the winner and would be favored over either fighter. The Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist is a talented boxer-puncher with a smart jab getting more comfortable sitting down on his power shots.  

Recent Form

Briedis arrived earlier this year with his title win over Huck. While Huck has shown to be on the backside of a long career, Briedis’ dominating win still merits credit. He showed off some good, subtle head movement, deft short counter punching, and a nice jab. How that will play against the southpaw Perez remains to be seen.

It also remains to be seen just what Perez has at cruiserweight. His June return was over in seconds when he scored a knockdown moments into the fight only for his foe to rise injured, limping, and unable to go on. Perez looks fantastic physically; he’s in the best shape of his career. However, he hasn’t been in a competitive professional fight in over two years (Povetkin) and he wasn’t that competitive there.

Both men have fought at heavyweight, with Breidis scoring a knockout of former title challenger Manuel Charr, with Perez having contested there for most of his nine years in boxing. Let’s be honest: we have no idea what Perez will look like here or what he has left. We just know he’s in shape.

The Pick

Perez had a little bit of buzz going for a bit after winning the UK Prizefighter tournament, a decision over Travis Walker, and a near tragic defeat of Magomed Abdusalamov. He struggled, and perhaps got lucky receiving a draw against rugged Carlos Takam and the unraveling followed soon after.

Perez has the skill to give Briedis a run, assuming he isn’t covered in rust, but it’s hard to pick an upset over an undefeated titlist at home against a guy who no one has seen do anything of note in years. Briedis has been more active, is more tested at cruiserweight, and is the choice to reach the semi-finals.

Fans who want to tune in online can do so at approximately 5:00 PM EDT at:

DirectTV customers can tune in at 7:00 PM EDT on tape delay.

Report Card and Staff Picks 2017: 37-15

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com