It has been revealed, by Turki Al-Sheikh, that a rematch between former cruiserweight champions Jai Opetaia and Mairis Briedis will go ahead on the February 17th card that will of course be headlined by the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight title fight showdown.
Opetaia, who was stripped of the IBF 200 pound title he won from Briedis last summer, this because the Australian went ahead with his fight against Ellis Zorro on the last big card in Saudi Arabia, this a no-no in the opinion of the sanctioning body, is still the Ring Magazine cruiserweight champ. Now, against former three-time cruiserweight champ Briedis, Opetaia will get the chance to win back the IBF strap.
Belts aside, this rematch is a good fight, the first fight seeing both men have their moments, with Opetaia suffering a broken jaw and with Briedis coming on strong in the later rounds. The rematch could be just as fierce. That said, we don’t know how much Briedis has left at age 39, with the Latvian not having fought since being outpointed by 28 year old Opetaia.
If he hasn’t faded badly, Briedis, a tough and gutsy fighter who is not afraid to take it to almost street level if he has to (see his wilder than wilder win over Krzysztof Glowacki from back in 2019), could be the man winning back the IBF belt. Opetaia, though, has got plenty of people excited, to the extent that they feel he is the best cruiserweight in the world and possibly a future heavyweight.
Opetaia, 24-0(19) scored a quick, explosive win over Zorro back in December, but he could find himself in a way tougher fight on February 17. Briedis, 28-2(20) has never been stopped and, again, providing he hasn’t grown old overnight, this may not change next month.
Fury-Usyk is of course huge, needing no under card to really speak of to ensure sales. Credit to the Saudis for giving us fans a potentially great supporting feature anyway.
Repeat or Revenge in Riyadh when Opetaia and Briedis get it on again?