The Cruiserweights return for another season with some new faces looking to make a name for themselves!
In September of 2017, the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) announced a tournament featuring eight of the top cruiserweights in the division. These warriors would do battle until July 2018 for the coveted Muhammad Ali trophy and a purse totalling $50 million! In addition, with all of the champions in play, the winner would also become the undisputed cruiserweight champion; the first since O’Neil Bell in 2006.
As previously reported by 3Kings, the WBSS wasted no time after Oleksandr Usyk defeated Murat Gassiev on July 21 to become the king of the division. They would announce a second season involving this division and below are the top seeds and quarter-final match-ups!
Match-ups and Breakdowns
Top Seeds:
- Mairis Briedis (24-1, 18ko). A season one participant and former WBC champion who would lose to the eventual winner of the tournament, Oleksandr Usyk in the semi-finals. With such a close fight against the season one champion, many favor Briedis to be this season’s winner.
- Yunier Dorticos (22-1, 21ko). Another season one participant and former WBA champion who would also lose in the semi-finals to finalist, Murat Gassiev.
- Krzysztof Glowacki (30-1, 19ko). The former WBO champion who picked up the title after a knockout win over Marco Huck in 2015. Since losing the title to Usyk in 2016, he has won four straight with three by knockout.
- Ruslan Fayfer (23-0, 16ko). Currently the IBF International and WBA Asia champion, Fayfer is a highly-touted prospect out of Russia and is seen as the wildcard of the tournament.
Quarter-Final Matches:
- Briedis will take on Noel Mikaelian (23-1, 10ko) from Germany. Mikaelian is arguably the most unknown fighter in the tournament. He is so “underground” that it is difficult to find much information on him. Look for him to try to swing this into his favor as he will have nothing to lose here.
- Dorticos will clash with Polish veteran Mateusz Masternak (41-4, 28ko). Masternak been in there with some of the top names in the division over his 12-year career. This surprising considering he has never actually fought for a world title.
- Glowacki will enter the ring with Maksim Vlasov (42-2, 25ko) form Russia who is on a 12-fight win streak since losing to WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez in 2015.
- Fayfer will rumble with Andrew Tabiti (16-0, 13ko), the hard-hitting American prospect who is widely seen as the “dark-horse” of the tournament.
There are many new faces in this season’s installment of the WBSS tournament. Fan intrigue will only increase as we await the emergence of a new tournament champion!
By: EJ Williams
