The Briedis – Dorticos WBSS Cruiserweight Finale Has Been Postponed

For hardcore fans, one of the most anticipated fights of the year was next Saturday’s cruiserweight battle in Riga, Latvia between hometown hero Mairis Briedis (26-1, 19 KOs) and Yuniel “Knockout Doctor” Dorticos (24-1, 22 KOs). The match would have drawn the curtain on the sputtering second season of the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament which began all the way back in October of 2018 when Andrew Tabiti opposed Ruslan Fayfer in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Briedis and Dorticos were in last year’s tournament and both advanced to the semifinals where they suffered their first pro defeat. Briedis gave future unified champion Oleksandr Usyk his toughest fight while losing a majority decision. Dorticos was stopped in the final round of a rousing skirmish with Murat Gassiev.

Several days ago, it was announced that the WBSS had partnered with Matchroom Boxing and Sky Sports to broadcast the bout live in the U.K. But that announcement proved premature. Today (Saturday, March 14) it was announced that the bout has been postponed.

Here’s the formal statement from event sponsor Comosa AG:

“Local authorities in Latvia have adopted comprehensive measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, events with more than 200 people present have been prohibited until April 14.

In regard to the risk of infection, the local authorities have concluded that the WBSS Cruiserweight final is a particularly high-risk event, not only for the athletes themselves but also for all local and foreign staff involved in the organization and conduct of the event.

For this reason, the WBSS Cruiserweight final between Mairis Briedis and Yuniel Dorticos cannot take place as planned. The new date planned for the Final in Arena Riga is May 16, however, this is, of course, dependent on the current restrictions being lifted.

The health of all those involved to stage this historic event is and will always be the primary concern of the WBSS and we will continue to carefully monitor the situation with the authorities and the athlete’s teams.

We very much regret this step and thank all involved spectators, fans, partners and sponsors for their understanding in this extraordinary and challenging situation. All tickets remain valid for the new date.”

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The WBSS bantamweight tournament and the WBSS 140-pound tournament have already concluded. The bantamweight finale between Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire was named the 2019 TSS Fight of the Year. The 140-pound finale between Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis was a Fight of the Year contender.

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