Opetaia Overcomes Briedis in a Bloody War: Wins IBF/Lineal Cruiserweight Title

In a bloody, see-saw battle in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia, youth prevailed as 27-year-old Sydney southpaw Jai Opetaia held on to wrest the IBF cruiserweight title from Mairis Briedis. The decision was unanimous: 115-113 and 116-112 twice.

The first Latvian to win a world title, the 37-year-old Briedis was generally recognized as the top dog in the 200-pound class. He brought a 28-1 record marred only by a January 2018 setback to Oleksandr Usyk who prevailed on a majority decision. That was Usyk’s hardest fight. But Briedis had been relatively inactive since that contest. His fight today was only his fourth in the last 43 months.

Opetaia, a teenage Olympian in 2012, was undefeated (21-0, 17 KOs coming in) but was making a big jump up in class and was penciled a small underdog although he was fighting on his home turf. But, at the midpoint of the fight, one could sense that an upset was brewing. An uppercut in round four had plainly broken Briedis’s nose; the blood was leaking into his mouth and he was gasping for air.

But Briedis gradually shifted the momentum in his favor and it was Opetaia who was hanging on at the end after absorbing a punch that broke his jaw and left him with marbles in his mouth in the post-fight interview.

It was the sort of fight that begs for a rematch. Take away that one big uppercut in round four and Briedis would have theoretically retained his title via a draw.

Also

In a light heavyweight contest, Conor Wallace used a fast start to score a major upset with a 10-round split decision over Faris Chevalier. Wallace won by a 98-92 tally on two of the cards with the third judge favoring Chevalier 96-94.

A 26-year-old Queenslander from Northern Ireland, Wallace (9-1, 6 KOs) had sparred hundreds of rounds with Conor McGregor. The 35-year-old Chevalier, from Brisbane by way of Paris, had won 13 straight coming in after losing his pro debut.

Brisbane middleweight Issac Hardman (13-1, 11 KOs) rebounded from a bad loss to countryman Michael Zerafa with a frightening one-punch knockout of Canberra’s Beau Hartis. A crushing right hand ended the contest at the 1:49 mark of the opening round. Hartis (6-2) was unconscious before he hit the canvas.

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