IBF cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis has announced that he’ll no longer be fighting in the division.
“Hey guys, I’m coming to heavyweight,” during a workout session before unleashing a barrage of punches on the heavy bag.
The video on his TikTok channel was captioned “I am not afraid to take a step” and paired with two rocket emojis. Briedis’ song of choice for the video was Eminem's hit song “Not Afraid.”
Briedis (27-1, 19 KOs) has not fought since scoring a majority decision over Yuniel Dorticos in September to capture the IBF crown he currently holds. The victory made him a three-time cruiserweight champion.
Briedis’ lone career loss came to Oleksandr Usyk via majority decision in 2018 as part of the World Boxing Super Series.
The 36-year-old Latvian is likely looking for a big-money fight, and he could very well get that at heavyweight.
In recent weeks, Briedis has also challenged Jake Paul to a fight on his social media channels by posting a series of videos.
Time will tell if his announcement and move to heavyweight was made for the sake of creating content, or an exclusive peek into the stage of his career.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com