After months of delay, Briedis - Dorticos is only one week away. Initially scheduled for March but delayed for obvious reasons, the fight will now take place at the Plazamedia Broadcasting Center, Munich, Germany on Saturday 26th September.
Briedis vs Dorticos: 1 week to go until WBSS cruiserweight final
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Mairis Briedis and Yuniel Dorticos finally step through the ropes next Saturday to battle it out for the World Boxing Super Series Muhammad Ali Trophy
For Briedis and Dorticos, this will be a second attempt at winning the series, each having competed in the first WBSS season that took place throughout 2017/2018. Then, both men came up short at the semi-finals with Dorticos being KO'd in the 12th by Murat Gassiev and Briedis losing a mixed decision to the man that would go on to win the tournament, Oleksandr Usyk. However, this time around, with a less formidable pool of competition, they've each found their way through the tournament with relative ease.
Briedis (26-1) and Dorticos (24-1) take almost identical records into the final - with those losses back in the 2017/2018 WBSS being the only blemish for either man - making it difficult to pick a winner.
Dorticos, otherwise known as the 'KO Doctor' has built a fearsome reputation, racking up 22 knockouts in his 25 fights. Briedis will need to be switched on from the opening bell to the last - any small lapse in concentration could see him taking a long look up at the lights.
Briedis enters the fight with 19 KO's of his own from 27 fights and with wins over the likes of Marco Huck and Krzysztof Głowacki, plus the experience of going 12 rounds with Usyk, he'll be supremely confident in his chances against the Cuban. He'll also feel encouraged knowing he has never been stopped, while Dorticos was KO'd in his only loss against Gassiev.
The winner on the night will take home The Ring cruiserweight title, the IBF cruiserweight title (currently held by Dorticos) and the Muhammad Ali Trophy.
Previous WBSS finals have seen trophies go to the previously mentioned Oleksandr Usyk at cruiserweight, Callum Smith at super-middleweight, Josh Taylor at Super-lightweight and Naoya Inoue at Bantamweight.
Watch Dorticos' full WBSS semi-final fight with Murat Gassiev from the 2017/2018 World Boxing Super Series below -
Previous WBSS finals have seen trophies go to the previously mentioned Oleksandr Usyk at cruiserweight, Callum Smith at super-middleweight, Josh Taylor at Super-lightweight and Naoya Inoue at Bantamweight.
Watch Dorticos' full WBSS semi-final fight with Murat Gassiev from the 2017/2018 World Boxing Super Series below -