Mairis fought a Ukrainian in 2018
IBF World Heavyweight Champion Mairis Briedis shared his expectations from the second fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua. He said he was ready to help the Briton prepare for revenge with the Ukrainian.
“Will I eventually move up to heavyweight? Maybe. Let’s see. Maybe I’ll come to help Joshua prepare for the fight, give him some secrets for the Usyk fight. Maybe. It’s not a problem for me to move up to heavyweight because I’ve fought heavyweights a lot,” Briedis said.
“I think Joshua will prepare well this time, and that’s the most important thing. Before the first fight, Usyk prepared for eight months, and Joshua less, probably two to three months. Given the preparation, now the chances are 50/50.
“Am I really ready to help Joshua? First I need to fight on July 2nd. It’s just what I imagine.”
The second fight between Usyk and Joshua will officially take place on August 20 in Saudi Jeddah. Boxers will fight for the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles.
Last fall, Usyk defeated Anthony via unanimous decision to win the heavyweight championship belts. The winner of the fight can fight Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight title of the world.
Briedis will fight next on July 2 in Australia. Mairis will defend the IBF title against Jay Opetaya.
Recall that Usyk and Briedis fought in January 2018. The Ukrainian defeated Mairis by majority decision and unified the WBO and WBC cruiserweight titles.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
