2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – cruiserweight division

The 2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – cruiserweight division was a World Boxing Super Series professional boxing tournament that took place between September 2017 and July 2018 in several countries. The Super Series featured 8 top-rated cruiserweight boxers in a single-elimination tournament. Its winner will hold world titles for all 4 of boxing's major sanctioning bodies, as well as the Muhammad Ali trophy. The tournament was organized by Comosa AG. A super middleweight tournament is held concurrently, with prize money for both competitions totalling US$50 million.^[1]

Participants

Rating1	Boxer	Record2	Stance	Height	Age2	World titles2
6	Mairis Briedis (LAT)	22–0–0	Orthodox	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	(1985-01-13)January 13, 1985 (aged 32)	WBC World Champion
9	Yunier Dorticos (CUB)	21–0–0	Orthodox	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	(1986-03-11)March 11, 1986 (aged 31)	WBA (Regular) World Champion
2	Murat Gassiev (RUS)	24–0–0	Orthodox	1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)	(1993-10-12)October 12, 1993 (aged 23)	IBF World Champion
10	Marco Huck (GER)	40–4–1	Orthodox	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	(1984-11-11)November 11, 1984 (aged 32)
N/A	Dmitry Kudryashov (RUS)	21–1–0	Orthodox	1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)	(1985-10-26)October 26, 1985 (aged 31)
N/A	Mike Perez (CUB)	22–2–1	Southpaw	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	(1985-10-20)October 20, 1985 (aged 31)
1	Oleksandr Usyk (UKR)	12–0–0	Southpaw	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	(1987-01-17)January 17, 1987 (aged 30)	WBO World Champion
7	Krzysztof Włodarczyk (POL)	53–3–1	Orthodox	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	(1981-09-19)September 19, 1981 (aged 35)

^1 Transnational Boxing Rankings Board rankings on 8 August 2017, the last archived rankings before the start of the tournament. ^[2]
^2 Age, records, and titles listed as of the start of the tournament.

• Krzysztof Głowacki and Mateusz Masternak are tournament reserves.^[3]

Bracket

The format of the tournament required four seeded fighters to each choose their opponent from the four remaining unseeded fighters in a draft. The seeded fighters were determined by the organizers.^[4] The draft took place on July 8, 2017 in a gala hosted by actress Melanie Winiger in Monte Carlo.^[5] Per IBF rules, Gassiev had to defend his title against Włodarczyk before facing anyone else. Therefore, that matchup was pre-arranged before the draft.^[6]

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	Oleksandr Usyk (UKR)	TKO 10
	Marco Huck (GER)
					Oleksandr Usyk (UKR)	MD 12
					Mairis Briedis (LAT)
	Mairis Briedis (LAT)	UD 12
	Mike Perez (CUB)
									Oleksandr Usyk (UKR)	UD 12
									Murat Gassiev (RUS)
	Murat Gassiev (RUS)	KO 3
	Krzysztof Włodarczyk (POL)
					Murat Gassiev (RUS)	TKO 12
					Yunier Dorticos (CUB)
	Yunier Dorticos (CUB)	KO 2
	Dmitry Kudryashov (RUS)

Quarterfinals

Usyk vs. Huck

Date	9 September 2017
Venue	Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany
Title(s) on the line	WBO cruiserweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Oleksandr Usyk Marco Huck Nickname The Cat Captain Hometown Simferopol, Ukraine Berlin, Germany Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight 199 1⁄2 lb (90.5 kg) 198 4⁄5 lb (90.2 kg)
Result
Usyk defeats Huck in the 10th round via TKO.[7]

In the inaugural match of the Super Series, top-seeded Oleksandr Usyk sought to defend his title against Marco Huck. At the weigh-in, Usyk hitting the scales at precisely 199½ lbs, while Huck weighed-in at 198¾ lbs. The fight took place at Max-Schmeling-Halle and was announced by Jimmy Lennon Jr..^[8] At the final press conference, a bit of controversy occurred during the head to head photo, where Huck pushed his opponent Usyk.^[9]

The first Super Series quarter-final saw Usyk successfully retain his WBO title and advance to the semi-finals after the referee stepped in to stop the encounter and save Huck from further punishment.^[10] The official time of the stoppage was 2:16 in round 10. Usyk didn't have a whole lot of trouble in the fight. Huck provided heart and toughness, showing he was certainly not a pushover but Usyk's boxing skills were too much, completely outboxing Huck and continuously landing punches. The win was Usyk's third successful title defense, and sees him advance to the next stage of the Super Series.^[11]

The undercard was headlined by a bout between Noel Gevor and Isiah Thomas. Both fighters were coming off losses, but Gevor got the win via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 100–89 in favor of Gevor.^[12]

Dorticos vs. Kudryashov

Date	23 September 2017
Venue	Alamodome, San Antonio, United States
Title(s) on the line	WBA (Regular) cruiserweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Yunier Dorticos Dmitry Kudryashov Nickname The KO Doctor The Russian Hammer Hometown Havana, Cuba Volgodonsk, Russia Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 6 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1.89 m) Weight 199 lb (90 kg) 200 lb (91 kg)
Result
Dorticos defeats Kudryashov in the 2nd round via KO.

The second Super Series cruiserweight quarterfinal featured Yunier Dorticos defending his WBA (Regular) title against Dmitry Kudryashov. The bout generated some expectation, as Kudryashov and Dorticos were both known as knockout punchers, with 42 out of 43 of their combined previous fights ending by way of knockout.^[13] This will be the Super Series' first match in the United States. A percentage of the gate revenue will be donated to the San Antonio Food Bank to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey.^[14] At the official weigh-in, Dmitry Kudryashov initially missed weight by half a pound, coming in at 200 1⁄2 lbs. However, he was able to come in at exactly 200 lbs in a second try 45 minutes later. Dorticos weighed in at 199 lbs.^[15]

On fight night, Dorticos retained his title and advanced to the semi-finals by knocking out Kudryashov in just 2 rounds. The fight started with a slow-paced, feel out round, with both boxers studying their opponent. Dorticos successfully executed a pull counter as the bell sounded. In round 2, the pace of the fight increased, with Dorticos and Kudryashov trading combinations. Eventually, Dorticos gained the upper hand by landing a series of one-two combos, as Kudryashov retreated behind his high guard. Dorticos ended the contest by knocking out Kudryashov with a right hook. The referee waived the count with a minute left in round 2.^[16]

In the undercard, Keith Tapia won a wide unanimous decision over Lateef Kayode (100–89, 100–89, 99–90), having dropped him once at the end of round 6.^[17] Earlier, four-weight world champion Nonito Donaire defeated Rubén García Hernández by unanimous decision (100–90, 99–91, 97–93) for the WBC Silver featherweight title.^[18]

Briedis vs. Perez

Date	30 September 2017
Venue	Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia
Title(s) on the line	WBC cruiserweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Mairis Briedis Mike Perez Nickname   The Rebel Hometown Riga, Latvia Ciego de Ávila, Cuba Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight 198 1⁄2 lb (90.0 kg) 197 1⁄3 lb (89.5 kg)
Result
Briedis defeats Perez via UD (116–110, 114–112, 115–111)

Mairis Briedis defended his WBC cruiserweight title against Mike Perez in the third WBSS cruiserweight quarterfinal. This was Perez's second fight as a cruiserweight, after he came down from the heavyweight division following a TKO loss to Alexander Povetkin. The bout took place in Briedis' hometown of Riga, at the eponymous Arena Riga. At the official weigh-in, Briedis tipped the scales at 198 1⁄2 lbs, while Mike Perez came in lighter, at 197 1⁄3 lbs.^[19]

Briedis won a scrappy fight in his hometown, beating Mike Perez by unanimous decision after 12 rounds (116–110, 114–112, 115–111). Perez was deducted a point in round 3 following an accidental headbutt. Briedis was also docked a point during round 10 for excessive holding. With the win, Briedis moves on to the semifinals to face top-seeded Oleksandr Usyk.^[20]

The undercard saw tournament reserve Krzysztof Głowacki beat Leonardo Bruzesse via 5th round knockout and super heavyweight Olympic medalist Filip Hrgović dominate and defeat Zumbano Love via TKO in the first round in his professional debut.

Gassiev vs. Włodarczyk

Date	21 October 2017
Venue	Prudential Center, Newark, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	IBF cruiserweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Murat Gassiev Krzysztof Włodarczyk Nickname Iron Diablo Hometown Vladikavkaz, Russia Warsaw, Poland Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight 199 lb (90 kg) 199 1⁄2 lb (90.5 kg)
Result
Gassiev defeats Włodarczyk in the 3rd round via KO

The final cruiserweight quarterfinal match was between IBF champion Murat Gassiev and former IBF and WBC champion Krzysztof Włodarczyk. the fight would take place in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center on 21 October 2017. One of the main factors for the fight taking place in New Jersey was due to the Polish population in that state.^[21][22] At the official weigh-in, Gassiev tipped the scales at 199 lb, while Włodarczyk weighed 199 1⁄2 lb.^[23]

Gassiev delivered a dominant 3rd round KO, retaining his IBF title and securing his place in the semi finals. Gassiev was in control the opening two rounds working away on Włodarczyk. Midway through round 3, having Włodarczyk against the ropes, Gassiev connected with a left uppercut to the head, which was immediately followed by a left to the body, dropping Włodarczyk on all fours, flat on the canvas. Włodarczyk, clearly in pain, failed to beat the 10 count. The official time of stoppage was 1:57 of the round. Gassiev, who was pleased with his performance, said, "I had a great opponent tonight. I prepared myself for a tough fight, but it is boxing, and anything can happen. We do a lot of work in the gym, and I just listened to my coach round after round, and he told me what I needed to do. That's all I needed." Włodarczyk accepted defeat admitting the better man won.^[24][25]

On the undercard, Maciej Sulęcki defeated Jack Culcay via unanimous decision, and tournament alternate Mateusz Masternak beat Stivens Bujaj.

Semifinals

The semifinals were held on 27 January and 3 February 2018.

27 January 2018	Oleksandr Usyk	def. (MD 12)	Mairis Briedis	Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia

3 February 2018	Murat Gassiev	def. (TKO 12)	Yunier Dorticos	Bolshoy Ice Dome, Sochi, Russia

Final

Initially, the final was scheduled for 11 May 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,^[26] but later it was rescheduled for 21 July 2018 in Moscow, Russia.

21 July 2018	Oleksandr Usyk	def. (UD 12)	Murat Gassiev	Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia

See also

• 2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – super middleweight division

References