Mike Perez vs Mairis Briedis Preview Sept. 30th
Former heavyweight hopeful Mike Perez of Cuba has dropped down to cruiserweight and will be taking on unbeaten WBC Champion Mairis Briedis of Latvia in the champ’s hometown of Riga on Saturday, September 30th. The bout is a part of the World Boxing Super Series and can be seen live on ITV Box Office in the UK and Super Channel in Canada. Perez is a southpaw who last fought in June when he stopped Viktor Biscak with a right hook after just 29 seconds. Briedis won the vacant title in his last bout in April by beating Marco Huck via a unanimous decision. Briedis also won the IBO Title that night, but refused to pay the sanctioning fees.
Perez vs Briedis Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Mike Perez +360
- Mairis Briedis -460
My Pick
Perez’s win in June was his first bout since being stopped by in the first round former heavyweight titleholder Alexander Povetkin back in May of 2015. Perez weighed in at just over 240 lbs against Povetkin and came down to cruiserweight against Biscak, so this will be his second bout in the 200 lb division. The weight loss may be a sign that he’s focused on his career once again. He seemed to lose his way after his 10-round unanimous decision win over Magomed Abdusalamov in which his opponents was seriously injured.
The 31-year-old Perez hails from Cuba, but actually fights out of the Republic of Ireland. He’ll climb into the ring with a decent record of 22-2-1 with 14 Kos. His other defeat was by a close split decision to Bryant Jennings in July of 2014. Perez’s biggest wins have been against Darnell Wilson, Travis Walker, Abdusalamov, Tye Fields and Friday Ahunanya. His lone draw was a 10-round majority affair with Carlos Takam in January of 2014. Perez used to fight with a high body fat percentage and often faded late in fights, such as against Jennings, but that’s not the case since he’s dropped to cruiserweight.
Perez stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with an unlisted reach. He turned pro in 2008 and has fought a total of 104 rounds since then with a knockout ratio of 64 per cent. He had an excellent amateur career with several high-profile medals being placed around his neck as a light heavyweight and heavyweight before defecting to Ireland. Perez isn’t particularly hard to hit so he’s going to need to be better defensively in this fight. He has a great chin, but it’s generally better not to test it if you don’t have to. Perez is a fine boxer and could end up being the surprise of this tournament.
The 32-year-old Briedis is a heavy hitter with plenty of skills and Perez will be better off to try and box him rather than slug it out. The new champ has a perfect record of 22-0 along with 18 Kos and has stopped seven of his last eight opponents with Huck managing to go the distance. His biggest wins have been against Huck as well as contenders Olanrewaju Durodola by ninth-round stoppage in 2016 and a fifth-round stoppage of heavyweight Manuel Charr back in 2015. Briedis turned pro in 2009 and has fought just 91 rounds since then. He’s the same height as Perez at 6-foot-1.
Briedis reach is unlisted, but it’s thought to be about 80 inches. As his record shows, he’s got quite a bit of power with a current knockout ratio of 82 per cent and possesses good boxing skills. If he does have an 80-inch reach he’ll be using it to catch Perez with shots when his opponent comes within range. Other than a few recognizable names though, Briedis may lack a little experience in fighting against top-ranked opponents up to now.
Prediction…
It would be easy to predict a KO for the champions Briedis, but I think Perez could surprise a lot of people in the World Boxing Super Series now that he’s lost 40 lbs. I believe Perez has the better boxing skills of the two and have a feeling that he could upset the apple cart in his first fight by taking the WBC Title somehow.
It will be an upset if Perez wins.
Play: Perez +460 @ BetOnline.ag
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Mairis Briedis betting • Mike Perez betting