Mairis Briedis-Jai Opetaia IBF Title Fight Set For Australia

The lone world title fight of this weekend will happen “down under” as IBF Cruiserweight champ Mairis Breidis is back in action for the first time in a year defending against an unheralded IBF contender from Australia in Jai Opetaia in a scheduled 12 rounder.

Breidis and Opetaia hit the scales earlier Friday afternoon in Broadbeach, Australia for the Latvian’s second defense of his IBF championship he won by majority decision over Yuniel Dorticos in September 2020,

FIGHT READY 💪 🇱🇻 @BriedisMairis is IN SHAPE on the scales ahead of mandatory Cruiserweight World Title defence 🌍 🏆 @SauerlandBros @FiteTV #BriedisOpetaia pic.twitter.com/lyqxyzL0Ph

— Wasserman Boxing (@WassermanBoxing) July 1, 2022

Breidis checked in at 199.1 lb., while Opetaia was also under the 200 lb. cruiserweight limit 198.4 lb.

Her’s more rom the Top Rank Boxing release about the title fight,

“The action kicks off  in the early morning hours (5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT), as IBF cruiserweight world champion Mairis Breidis defends his title against undefeated contender Jai Opetaia at Gold Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach, Australia.

Breidis (28-1, 20 KOs), a native of Riga, Latvia, has won five bouts since losing a razor-thin decision to Oleksandr Usyk in January 2018. The 37-year-old puncher won the IBF belt in September 2020 with a majority decision over Yuniel Dorticos, then defended it last October in Riga with a third-round TKO over Artur Mann. Opetaia (21-0, 17 KOs), a 2012 Australian Olympian from Sydney, has fought most of his career in Australia. The 26-year-old has knocked out his last three foes and is taking a major step up against Breidis”

Hear us preview this bout and more, as Dan Rafael joins me on the latest “Big Fight Weekend Preview” podcast,

The rest of the card that will be part of a pay per view from Main Events in Australia and Wasserman Boxing promotions is:

Isaac Hardman (12-1, 10 KOs) vs. Beau Hartas (6-1, 4 KOs), 10 rounds, middleweight

Dana Coolwell (7-2, 5 KOs) vs. Lorenz Ladrada (11-2-1, 3 KOs), 8 rounds, featherweight

Taylah Robertson (5-1, 1 KO) vs. Yoselin Fernandez (11-1, 5 KOs), 10 rounds, junior bantamweight

Faris Chevalier (13-1, 7 KOs) vs. Conor Wallace (8-1, 6 KOs), 10 rounds, light heavyweight

Joel Camilleri (22-7-1, 10 KOs) vs. Koen Mazoudier (9-2, 4 KOs), 10 rounds, junior middleweight