Tag: Mairis Briedis

Pound for pound: Shakur Stevenson ascends the list

Pound for pound: Shakur Stevenson ascends the list after his victory over Oscar Valdez on Saturday.

Sometimes fighters make it impossible to keep them off pound-for-pound lists.

Shakur Stevenson did that this past Saturday in Las Vegas, outclassing previously unbeaten and respected Oscar Valdez to unify two 130-pound titles by a unanimous decision and leave no doubt that he’s among the best in the business.

Stevenson not only won handily, he embarrassed an elite opponent with his sublime skill. That’s a rarity. It’s Mayweather-esque.

Thus, the pride of Newark, New Jersey, ascends from Honorable Mention to No. 14 on the Boxing Junkie list, pushing Kazuto Ioka (No. 14 last week) to No. 15 and Josh Taylor (No. 15 last week) to Honorable Mention.

And stay tuned. We expect the 24-year-old to climb much higher over the next year or two.

Next up on the pound-for-pound list: No. 2 Canelo Alvarez challenges light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on pay-per-view Saturday in Las Vegas..

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to challenge WBA light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
  3. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to defend his heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua in a rematch this summer.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury– No fight scheduled.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco in June.
  9. Gennadiy Golovkin – No fight scheduled but expected to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to face Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on May 14 in Carson, California.
  11. Artur Beterbiev – In talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  12. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brookly, New York.
  13. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  14. Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
  15. Kazuto Ioka – The WBO has ordered a rematch between Ioka and Donnie Nietes for Ioka’s junior bantamweight belt but no deal is in place.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (expected to defend his IBF cruiserweight title against Jai Opetaia in June or July); Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Josh Taylor (no fight scheduled).

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Pound for pound: Did Tyson Fury do enough to climb the list?

Pound for pound: Did Tyson Fury do enough to climb the list?

Heavyweight champ Tyson Fury gave the most spectacular performance of his career this past Saturday in London, stopping Dillian Whyte with a booming upper cut in the sixth round.

In the process, he retained his title and bolstered his position as the top big man of his era.

But was it enough to bump our No. 6 fighter pound-for-pound higher on the list?

No.

One, as impressive as Fury’s victory was, we had to take Whyte’s limitations into consideration when we assess the winner’s performance. Bottom line: Defeating Whyte isn’t a great achievement.

And, two, we had to look at the fighters ahead of Fury on the list: No. 1 Terence Crawford, No. 2 Canelo Alvarez, No. 3 Naoya Inoue, No. 4. Oleksandr Usyk and No. 5 Errol Spence Jr.

We couldn’t find justification for Fury to overtake the top three or Usyk and Spence, who are coming off impressive victories over Anthony Joshua and Yordenis Ugas. Joshua and Ugas are better fighters than Whyte.

Thus, Fury, our top heavyweight, remains at No. 6 for now. Of course, that could change if he gets a shot at Usyk, who is expected to face Joshua in a rematch this summer.

Next up on the pound-for-pound list: Honorable Mention Shakur Stevenson, who faces Oscar Valdez in a 130-pound title-unification bout this Saturday in las Vegas (ESPN, ESPN+).

Also, we took this opportunity to acknowledge that Stevenson was inadvertently removed from the list recently. As a result, we ended up with six fighters with legitimate claims on five Honorable Mention positions.

We finally settled on the five Honorable Mentions you see below.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to challenge WBA light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
  3. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to defend his heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua in a rematch.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury– No fight scheduled.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco.
  9. Gennadiy Golovkin – No fight scheduled but expected to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to face Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on May 14 in Carson, California.
  11. Artur Beterbiev – In talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  12. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brookly, New York.
  13. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  14. Kazuto Ioka – The WBO has ordered a rematch between Ioka and Donnie Nietes for Ioka’s junior bantamweight belt but no deal is in place.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Shakur Stevenson (scheduled to fight Oscar Valdez on April 30).

Pound for pound: Did Tyson Fury do enough to climb the list?

Pound for pound: Did Tyson Fury do enough to climb the list?

Heavyweight champ Tyson Fury gave the most spectacular performance of his career this past Saturday in London, stopping Dillian Whyte with a booming upper cut in the sixth round.

In the process, he retained his title and bolstered his position as the top big man of his era.

But was it enough to bump our No. 6 fighter pound-for-pound higher on the list?

No.

One, as impressive as Fury’s victory was, we had to take Whyte’s limitations into consideration when we assess the winner’s performance. Bottom line: Defeating Whyte isn’t a great achievement.

And, two, we had to look at the fighters ahead of Fury on the list: No. 1 Terence Crawford, No. 2 Canelo Alvarez, No. 3 Naoya Inoue, No. 4. Oleksandr Usyk and No. 5 Errol Spence Jr.

We couldn’t find justification for Fury to overtake the top three or Usyk and Spence, who are coming off impressive victories over Anthony Joshua and Yordenis Ugas. Joshua and Ugas are better fighters than Whyte.

Thus, Fury, our top heavyweight, remains at No. 6 for now. Of course, that could change if he gets a shot at Usyk, who is expected to face Joshua in a rematch this summer.

Next up on the pound-for-pound list: Honorable Mention Shakur Stevenson, who faces Oscar Valdez in a 130-pound title-unification bout this Saturday in las Vegas (ESPN, ESPN+).

Also, we took this opportunity to acknowledge that Stevenson was inadvertently removed from the list recently. As a result, we ended up with six fighters with legitimate claims on five Honorable Mention positions.

We finally settled on the five Honorable Mentions you see below.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to challenge WBA light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
  3. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to defend his heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua in a rematch.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury– No fight scheduled.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco.
  9. Gennadiy Golovkin – No fight scheduled but expected to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to face Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on May 14 in Carson, California.
  11. Artur Beterbiev – In talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  12. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brookly, New York.
  13. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  14. Kazuto Ioka – The WBO has ordered a rematch between Ioka and Donnie Nietes for Ioka’s junior bantamweight belt but no deal is in place.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Shakur Stevenson (scheduled to fight Oscar Valdez on April 30).

Pound for pound: Yordenis Ugas drops out, Tyson Fury next pound-for-pounder in action

Pound for pound: Yordenis Ugas dropped off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list after losing to Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday.

Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list changes this week. And more shakeups could lie ahead.

Yordenis Ugas, who had been on the list as an Honorable Mention after upsetting Manny Pacquiao to win a 147-pound title, drops out after losing decisively in his title-unification bout against Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

The Cuban has been replaced as an HM by junior bantamweight contender Roman Gonzalez, who rebounded from a loss to two-belt champion Juan Francisco Estrada to easily outpoint Julio Cesar Martinez on March 5.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 6 Tyson Fury, who is scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to challenge WBA light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
  3. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to defend his heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua in a rematch.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury– Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on April 23 in London.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco.
  9. Gennadiy Golovkin – No fight scheduled but expected to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to face Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on May 14 in Carson, California.
  11. Artur Beterbiev – In talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  12. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brookly, New York.
  13. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  14. Kazuto Ioka – The WBO has ordered a rematch between Ioka and Donnie Nietes for Ioka’s junior bantamweight belt but no deal is in place.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled); .

Pound for pound: Yordenis Ugas drops out, Tyson Fury next pound-for-pounder in action

Pound for pound: Yordenis Ugas dropped off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list after losing to Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday.

Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list changes this week. And more shakeups could lie ahead.

Yordenis Ugas, who had been on the list as an Honorable Mention after upsetting Manny Pacquiao to win a 147-pound title, drops out after losing decisively in his title-unification bout against Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

The Cuban has been replaced as an HM by junior bantamweight contender Roman Gonzalez, who rebounded from a loss to two-belt champion Juan Francisco Estrada to easily outpoint Julio Cesar Martinez on March 5.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 6 Tyson Fury, who is scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to challenge WBA light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
  3. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to defend his heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua in a rematch.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
  6. Tyson Fury– Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on April 23 in London.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Joshua Franco.
  9. Gennadiy Golovkin – No fight scheduled but expected to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to face Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on May 14 in Carson, California.
  11. Artur Beterbiev – In talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York.
  12. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brookly, New York.
  13. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  14. Kazuto Ioka – The WBO has ordered a rematch between Ioka and Donnie Nietes for Ioka’s junior bantamweight belt but no deal is in place.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled); .

Pound for pound: No. 9 Gennadiy Golovkin holds position, other top fighters getting busy

Pound for pound: Gennadiy Golovkin has stayed put on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list while other top fighters are getting busy.

Gennadiy Golovkin did more than enough in his knockout victory over Ryota Murata on Saturday to retain his spot on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list. Even at 40.

Triple-G, ranked No. 9 going into the middleweight title-unification bout in Japan, overcame some early challenges to break down and then stop Murata in the ninth round.

Is Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) good enough to beat Canelo Alvarez if they meet a third time in September? Who knows? What we do know, based on his performance against Murata, is that he remains a formidable fighter even if he’s a step slower than he was.

Thus, he remains at No. 9 on the list for the time being.

Of course, changes could be on tap as a number of pound-for-pounders are scheduled to see action in the coming weeks.

No. 5 Errol Spence Jr. and Honorable Mention Yordenis Ugas are set for a welterweight title-unification showdown this coming Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

And eight other ranked fighters have scheduled bouts the next two months: No. 2 Alvarez (Dmitry Bivol), No. 3 Naoya Inoue (HM Nonito Donaire), No. 6 Tyson Fury (Dillian Whyte), No. 10 Jermell Charlo (Brian Castano), No. 12 Gervonta Davis (Rolando Romero), No. 13 Jermall Charlo (Maciej Sulecki) and HM George Kambosos (Devin Haney).

Plus, a few others – including Oleksandr Usyk and Artur Beterbiev – are near deals to fight soon.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to challenge WBA light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
  3. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to defend his heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua in a rematch.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – Scheduled to face Yordenis Ugas in a welterweight title-unification bout on April 16 in Arlington, Texas.
  6. Tyson Fury– Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on April 23 in London.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  9. Gennadiy Golovkin – No fight scheduled but expected to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to face Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on May 14 in Carson, California.
  11. Artur Beterbiev – In talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York but no deal is in place.
  12. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brookly, New York.
  13. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  14. Kazuto Ioka – The WBO has ordered a rematch between Ioka and Donnie Nietes for Ioka’s junior bantamweight belt but no deal is in place.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled); and Yordenis Ugas (scheduled to face Errol Spence Jr. on April 16).

Pound for pound: No. 9 Gennadiy Golovkin holds position, other top fighters getting busy

Pound for pound: Gennadiy Golovkin has stayed put on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list while other top fighters are getting busy.

Gennadiy Golovkin did more than enough in his knockout victory over Ryota Murata on Saturday to retain his spot on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list. Even at 40.

Triple-G, ranked No. 9 going into the middleweight title-unification bout in Japan, overcame some early challenges to break down and then stop Murata in the ninth round.

Is Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) good enough to beat Canelo Alvarez if they meet a third time in September? Who knows? What we do know, based on his performance against Murata, is that he remains a formidable fighter even if he’s a step slower than he was.

Thus, he remains at No. 9 on the list for the time being.

Of course, changes could be on tap as a number of pound-for-pounders are scheduled to see action in the coming weeks.

No. 5 Errol Spence Jr. and Honorable Mention Yordenis Ugas are set for a welterweight title-unification showdown this coming Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

And eight other ranked fighters have scheduled bouts the next two months: No. 2 Alvarez (Dmitry Bivol), No. 3 Naoya Inoue (HM Nonito Donaire), No. 6 Tyson Fury (Dillian Whyte), No. 10 Jermell Charlo (Brian Castano), No. 12 Gervonta Davis (Rolando Romero), No. 13 Jermall Charlo (Maciej Sulecki) and HM George Kambosos (Devin Haney).

Plus, a few others – including Oleksandr Usyk and Artur Beterbiev – are near deals to fight soon.

Here is what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
  2. Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to challenge WBA light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
  3. Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to face Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight title-unification rematch on June 7 in Japan.
  4. Oleksandr Usyk – In talks to defend his heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua in a rematch.
  5. Errol Spence Jr. – Scheduled to face Yordenis Ugas in a welterweight title-unification bout on April 16 in Arlington, Texas.
  6. Tyson Fury– Scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on April 23 in London.
  7. Vasiliy Lomachenko – Career on hold because of the war in Ukraine.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
  9. Gennadiy Golovkin – No fight scheduled but expected to face Canelo Alvarez a third time in September.
  10. Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to face Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight championship on May 14 in Carson, California.
  11. Artur Beterbiev – In talks to face Joe Smith Jr. in a light heavyweight title-unification fight on June 18 in New York but no deal is in place.
  12. Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero on May 28 in Brookly, New York.
  13. Jermall Charlo – Scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki on June 18 in Houston.
  14. Kazuto Ioka – The WBO has ordered a rematch between Ioka and Donnie Nietes for Ioka’s junior bantamweight belt but no deal is in place.
  15. Josh Taylor – No fight scheduled.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (no fight scheduled); Nonito Donaire (scheduled to face Naoya Inoue on June 7); George Kambosos (scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against Devin Haney on June 5); Teofimo Lopez (no fight scheduled); and Yordenis Ugas (scheduled to face Errol Spence Jr. on April 16).

Mairis Briedis basks in victory, considers move to heavyweight

Cruiserweight titleholder Mairis Briedis said he’s considering a move up to heavyweight.

Mairis Briedis is thinking big after his victory over Yuniel Dorticos on Saturday in Munich. Literally.

The 35-year-old Latvian says he’s thinking about following in the footsteps of Oleksandr Usyk by moving up to heavyweight after winning his second cruiserweight title by a majority decision in the World Boxing Super Series final.

Usyk handed Briedis his only loss, a close majority decision in January 2018.

“I am considering a move to heavyweight,” Briedis said. “But right now I will rest a bit before I make any decisions.”

He earned a rest. He clearly outboxed his Cuban opponent, which was reflected on the two 117-111 scorecards. The third judge had it 114-114.

Briedis took Dorticos’ 200-pound belt with the victory.

“It feels fantastic to have won the Muhammad Ali Trophy, it feels like a dream,” he said. “Me, my team, my family have been waiting for such a long time for the trophy. Thank God we did it, and I am really happy about it.”

He went on: “In the first rounds I felt how dangerous Dorticos is, but I got used to his style, and in the later rounds we didn’t risk too much, we just boxed what we had prepared. I’m very satisfied with my performance.

“… I hope I produced a fight for the Latvian fans to be proud of me. The fans couldn’t be at the arena, but at least through TV I hopefully brought them emotions.”

The loss to Usyk was an emotional setback for Briedis (27-1, 19 KOs). Who knows? Maybe he’ll get another crack at his rival in the sport’s glamour division.

“I was down after the Usyk fight,” he said. “Usyk was better that night, and it is what it is. But looking back I can see that a lot of things around me and in my team have changed. And everything has gone better since that fight.

“I really don’t know if I would have won that night if my career would have advanced the way it has.”

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Mairis Briedis basks in victory, considers move to heavyweight

Cruiserweight titleholder Mairis Briedis said he’s considering a move up to heavyweight.

Mairis Briedis is thinking big after his victory over Yuniel Dorticos on Saturday in Munich. Literally.

The 35-year-old Latvian says he’s thinking about following in the footsteps of Oleksandr Usyk by moving up to heavyweight after winning his second cruiserweight title by a majority decision in the World Boxing Super Series final.

Usyk handed Briedis his only loss, a close majority decision in January 2018.

“I am considering a move to heavyweight,” Briedis said. “But right now I will rest a bit before I make any decisions.”

He earned a rest. He clearly outboxed his Cuban opponent, which was reflected on the two 117-111 scorecards. The third judge had it 114-114.

Briedis took Dorticos’ 200-pound belt with the victory.

“It feels fantastic to have won the Muhammad Ali Trophy, it feels like a dream,” he said. “Me, my team, my family have been waiting for such a long time for the trophy. Thank God we did it, and I am really happy about it.”

He went on: “In the first rounds I felt how dangerous Dorticos is, but I got used to his style, and in the later rounds we didn’t risk too much, we just boxed what we had prepared. I’m very satisfied with my performance.

“… I hope I produced a fight for the Latvian fans to be proud of me. The fans couldn’t be at the arena, but at least through TV I hopefully brought them emotions.”

The loss to Usyk was an emotional setback for Briedis (27-1, 19 KOs). Who knows? Maybe he’ll get another crack at his rival in the sport’s glamour division.

“I was down after the Usyk fight,” he said. “Usyk was better that night, and it is what it is. But looking back I can see that a lot of things around me and in my team have changed. And everything has gone better since that fight.

“I really don’t know if I would have won that night if my career would have advanced the way it has.”

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Mairis Briedis outpoints Yuniel Dorticos to win Ali Trophy

Mairis Briedis outboxed Yuniel Dorticos to win a majority decision in the final of WBSS cruiserweight tournament on Saturday night.

For Mairis Briedis, it was worth the wait.

Briedis outboxed Yuniel Dorticos to win a majority decision in the delayed final of the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament on Saturday night in Munich.

Two judges scored it 117-111; the third somehow had it 114-114. Most observers believe Briedis won clearly.

“It feels like a dream come true,” said Briedis, who also took Dorticos’ IBF 200-pound title.

The principals hadn’t fought since their semifinal matches in June, when Briedis (27-1, 19 KOs) stopped Krzysztof Glowacki and Dorticos (24-2, 22 KOs) did the same against Andrew Tabiti to win the vacant title.

The fight was fairly even for the first half of the fight. However, Briedis began to outwork a fading Dorticos in the second half to pull away on the two 117-111 cards.

The title is Briedis’ second. He was stripped of the WBO belt when he chose to fight Dorticos rather than Glowacki a second time.

Winning the tournament seemed more important than the title to Briedis. The WBSS winners are awarded the Ali Trophy.

“This,” Briedis said, “is the Olympic medal I’ve always wanted.”