Usyk unifies cruiser crown and earns place in WBSS final with points win over Briedis.

In an exceptional bout with a place in the Cruiserweight super series final up for grabs, WBO Champion Oleksandr Usyk 13-0 (11 Ko’s) scored a razor thin majority decision over Mairis Briedis 23-0 (18 Ko’s) to unify two titles and secure his place in the Muhammad Ali trophy final, tonight in Riga, Latvia..
Briedis started fast and drew the taller Usyk into a close quarters affair, enjoying an early advantage.. Usyk found his range in the fifth and began to force the home fighter onto the back foot, bloodying the Latvian fighters nose.. By round 7 it appeared all square with neither man giving an inch, only Briedis’s bravery was matched by Usyks relentless pressure.. many of the later rounds were extremely close, with both fighters digging deep in what was one of the most important Cruiserweight title fights in recent memory.. At the conclusion Usyk looked to have just done that little bit more to earn the win, with most onlookers in agreement that a rematch must be inevitable outside of the tournament.. Usyk will now meet the winner of the other semi final between Yunier Dorticos and Murat Gassiev which takes place next week in Sochi..

Judge Craig Metcalf couldn’t split the two with a 114-114 card..
Although judges Robert Tapper and Robin Taylor seeing it 115-113 to Usyk..

Weights from DiBellas Showtime card.. Brooklyn Ny.

Errol Spence Jr 147 v Lamont Peterson 146.75
(IBF welterweight championship)

Robert Easter Jr. 134.5 v Javier Fortuna 136.8
(IBF lightweight championship)

Fortuna offered two hours to drop 1.8 pounds to make the weight limit.

Marcus Browne 175.75 v Francy Ntetu 174.5
Adam Kownacki 260 v Iago Kiladze 220.5

Promoted by Lou DiBella’s, DiBella Entertainment.

Televised by Showtime.

NB.. Former super featherweight world champion Javier Fortuna returned to the scales, but was only able to drop half a pound, failing to make the 135lb lightweight limit. Fortuna’s Championship fight against IBF title holder Robert Easter will go ahead as planned, only Fortuna will be unable to claim the IBF title even in victory.

David Price agrees to meet Alexander Povetkin on Cardiff show.

In a huge roll of the dice on the March 31st Cardiff show, it looks highly likely that David Price 22-4 (18 Ko’s) will take on former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin 33-1 (23 Ko’s) with the incentive being a shot at the winner of the unification main event between Anthony Joshua and Jo Parker.. Former British and commonwealth champion Price, will enter the fight as a huge underdog, but is a renowned puncher with everything to shoot for and very little to lose, having lost 2 out of his last 5 ring appearances.. The huge Liverpool fighter looked destined for the championship back in 2013, with an unblemished 14 straight victories until he met ungainly Washington southpaw Tony Thompson, who twice handed David devastating defeats.. In 2015 following 4 straight comeback wins, he suffered another stoppage loss at the hands of Erkan Teper in a challenge for the European title, followed by a devastating upset stoppage at the hands of Christian Hammer last year.. Granted that 3 of the losses were later revealed to be under a shroud of drugs controversy, with both Thompson and Teper failing substance tests, Price will consistently be tagged with a question mark regarding his punch resistance at the highest level.. A questionable chin however isn’t something Povetkin could be labelled with.. In 2013, about the time Price was losing his undefeated record, Sasha was enjoying a 27 fight winning streak and looking at a shot at reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko.. In what would be the unified champions 16th title defence, Wladimir completely outclassed Povetkin in Moscow, which remains the sole blemish on the Russians record.. Since the loss Povetkin has ran up a 7 fight winning streak, with impressive knockouts of world title challengers, Carlos Takam, Mike Perez, Mariusz Wach and Johan Duhaupas, and most recently a points win over David Price conqueror Christian Hammer only weeks ago.. Amidst the reputation and solid record, there is a more sinister facet to Povetkins career, two failed drug tests in 2015 and 16 preceding his muted fights with Deontay Wilder and Bermaine Stiverne, for use of the banned substance Meldonium.. With drug cheats plaguing his opponent, David Prices career, it’s surprise that David has actually entertained this opportunity, but with a chance to exorcise some demons, the bout makes great personal sense.. Having failed more than one drug test, there remains a faction of people of the opinion that Povetkin should not be allowed to box competitively at the highest level, that being said, he is one of the most avoided and potentially dangerous fighter outside of the champions.. Price has the size and length to trouble any heavyweight on his best day, but of late has carried the crumbling baggage of his 4 knockout defeats and appears gunshy and tentative.. Povetkin is a patient and meticulous performer, facts that spell trouble for the likeable scouser.. I expect a comfortable nights work for the Russian but it would be a pleasant surprise to see Price go out in an argumentative blaze..

March is a heavyweight month.. All of the marbles up for grabs.

All of the heavyweight marbles appear to be on the line in March of this year, Matchroom Boxing has alerted media to a press conference on Tuesday to announce a world heavyweight title unification clash between WBA / IBF world champion Anthony Joshua and WBO world champion Joseph Parker. The bout is likely to take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on March 31. Joshua made an announcement on Twitter at the weekend. Financial stumbling blocks were ironed out between David Higgins and Eddie Hearn with a likely split of 35/65.. Whilst Stateside Alabama’s WBC Champion Deontay Wilder looks set to defend against unbeaten Cuban, Luis Ortiz at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn on March 3rd. The event will potentially be the most dangerous of Wilders defences to date, although the Cuban hasn’t been as proactive as he could have been over the last 18 months, he is a relatively unknown quantity who has shown cameos of his capabilities with solid knockouts over quality opposition.. Ortiz was scheduled to face Wilder last year until a discrepancy was revealed in a mandatory drug testing.. PBC and Dibella Entertainment will promote the show which has all of the makings of a showstopper.. It’s an awesome step forward with every recognised heavyweight belt being up for grabs in the space of a month.. The ideal circumstance would see the winners begin talks with a view to a complete unification..

Added interest on a similar note sees once beaten WBC silver champion Dillian Whyte take on unbeaten Lucas Browne on the 24th of the month with a WBC number one ranking up for grabs and a potential bout with the Wilder v Ortiz winner.. Whyte v Browne will be held at the O2 in London and will be televised live on Sky Sports..

Amir Khan signs with Matchroom, returns in Liverpool on April 21st.

Former unified junior welterweight champion and Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan has signed a three-fight promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing stable and looks likely to return to the ring on April 21 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.. Khan recently made a popular appearance on reality show ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here’ and appears to be refreshed and focused on returning to big time boxing once again, the first step being April 21st.
Khan’s last ring appearance was back in May 2016 when he unsuccessfully moved up to Middleweight to face Saul Alvarez and will be making his first appearance on Sky since his impressive 2014 victory over Devon Alexander.. Amir last boxed on these shores back in 2013, with a decision over Julio Diaz in Sheffield.. No opponent has yet been scheduled for the Liverpool show but it’s likely that a name will be released within the coming weeks..
Khan himself is thrilled with the unlikely move to work with Hearn, who hasn’t always seen eye to eye with the Bolton fighter.. The move makes great business sense to all concerned and all past bad feeling has been pushed aside.. Khan actually commented that He and Eddie get along fine, it was mainly outside influences that coerced any rift..
The Matchroom stable looks to be the leading light on the Uk scene and Khans addition is an intelligent one, with such lucrative potential matchups on the horizon with names like Brook, Thurman and Spence a future possibility..
The initial plan is to box in April and then again in August or September in preparation for a super fight at the end of the year.. The target is to provide Amir with the biggest fights possible utilising his marquee credibility.
Khan has never boxed in Liverpool and is super excited for his home return..