I was going through some threads today and saw @TheShellofKell mention a really juicy potential contest between Beterbiev and Briedis. I never really thought about this fight before but it does have the makings of a brilliant contest. Both men have similar frames and Beterbiev could easily move up to CW. Who do you think wins a potential contest at CW if they were to fight today and then if they fought 3 years ago? I'd have to go with Briedis in both scenarios. He's as tough as they come and is a better all around fighter in my eyes. I think Artur would make both competetive but ultimately I'd say Briedis by late TKO or 8-4 or 9-3 decision
I was gonna post this in the next few days, its a pickem fight, but if i had to choose i would go with Beterbiev but i think its an amazing matchup, Briedis seems to me to have lost a step since his war with Usyk.
Breidis wins this. Betebiev would need to put on substantial weight to compete with the naturally larger Breidis. His power most likely would not carry up.
Beterbiev boxed at 200lbs in the amateurs, dropped Usyk when they fought think his punch would carry.
Amateur HW. He wasn't a big guy in that division. Most likely he straddled the gap getween amateur LHW (178lbs) and HW (200 lbs). Briedis cuts down from 200+ lbs.
Briedis has a good gas tank as well, he stays active and hes very sharp defensively ans very very strong. I just feel Briedis' sharpness and speed would win him the contest. Great match up to be fair!
Beterbiev was an absolute monster at LHW in the amateurs and much more effective at that weight than he was at HW but his power whilst not as formidable at the later as it was at the former did still carry up up to HW. He was giving away a lot of weight up there too, weighing about 185-187 which is 14-16lbs below the HW limit in the amateurs. 2012 Chemistry Cup (Halle, GER) 1st place 91KG Won against Wang Xuanxuan (CHN) AB 3rd round in the final; Won against Julio Castillo (ECU) 14:5 in the semi-final; Won against Elber Passos (BRA) RSC 3rd round in the quarter-final; Won against Johann Witt (GER) 14:9 in the first preliminary round 2012 International Team Tournament (Almaty, KAZ) 1st place 91KG Won against Aleksey Sevostyanov (KAZ) AB 2nd round; Won against Suliman Abdourachidov (FRA) WO; Won against Manpreet Singh (IND) RSC 3rd round 2011 AIBA World Championships (Baku, AZE) 5th place 91KG Lost to Oleksandr Usyk (UKR) 17:13 in the quarter-final; Won against Djakhon Kurbanov (TJK) AB 2nd round in the second preliminary round; Won against Mario Heredia (MEX) AB 1st round in the first preliminary round 2011 Umakhanov Memorial Tournament (Makhachkala, RUS) 1st place 91KG Won against Jose Angel Larduet (CUB) WO in the final; Won against Abdulkadir Abdullayev (AZE) 11:3 in the semi-final; Won against Reza Moradkhani (IRN) RSCI 1st round in the quarter-final 2011 Russian National Championships 1st place 91KG Won against Abdulkhamid Nurmagomedov (RUS) 15:4 in the final; Won against Arbi Madayev (RUS) WO in the semi-final; Won against Spartak Bakhtiyarov (RUS) AB 2nd round in the quarter-final 2011 Great Silk Way Tournament (Baku, AZE) 1st place 91KG Won against Teymur Mammadov (AZE) WO in the final; Won against Vasiliy Levit (KAZ) 3:0 in the semi-final; Won against Sarkhan Jabbarov (AZE) KO 1st round in the quarter-final 2010 Russian National Championships 2nd place 91KG Lost to Pavel Nikitayev (RUS) 12:3 in the final; Won against Abdulkhamid Nurmagomedov (RUS) AB 2nd round in the semifinal; Won against Pavel Shulskiy (RUS) WO in the quarterfinal Michael ''The Bounty'' Hunter campaigned at SHW in the amateurs from at least 2007-2011 if not longer and he shared a ring with huge behemoths like Tyson Fury, Andy Ruiz, Oscar Rivas, Roberto Cammarelle, Islam Timurziev (massive punching once former #1 ranked SHW in the world), Roberto Alfonso etc. and none of them were able to stop him. That's one of the reasons why I rated/rate him so highly, because I knew he was very tough and that he could take a shot from naturally bigger/much bigger men. But IIRC when he fought Beterbiev in the amateurs it was him who was holding on and trying to spoil in the final round even though Beterbiev was giving away a lot of weight. Q: Oleksandr, you won most everything as an amateur, including the gold at the 2012 Olympics. Who would you say gave you your hardest fight as an amateur? Oleksandr Usyk: “Well, all those fights, they all took place within the last couple of years or so, so it’s hard to say. Maybe, if I was pushed to say, it was Artur Beterbiev of Russia who gave me my roughest fight. He is very aggressive and he does hit very hard. But Briedis is a massive puncher at CW, has never been down or hurt even though he's fought plenty of bangers - and according to very reliable sources he was never hurt even when sparring many rounds against Wlad and Vitali which is rare - and is a very complete fighter who is strong in almost every department. He's much more a boxer/puncher these days and is very economical with the full power shots, if he was less so everyone would realize how much power he carries in his mitts.
Really? So he dropped 25 lbs when he became a pro? That's surprising as fighters coming out of the amateurs generally move up in weight class, not down, especially by 25 lbs.
