As BS.com has reported on several occasions, the highly celebrated World Boxing Super Series tournament could very well be receiving a rabbit punch by the fallout of George Groves, who was scheduled to take part in the finals of the super middleweight version of the series.
WBC/WBO unified champion OleksandrUsyk and IBF/WBA king MuratGassiev were scheduled to take part in a heated affair for the undisputed 200-pound championship this coming Saturday in Saudi Arabia, but based on a serious cash injection from Russia, the organizers have been trying to move the final to the Russian capital of Moscow.
Usyk, being a proud Ukrainian, rejected the chance to fight in Gassiev's home country and has since suffered an injury pushing the final back to later than scheduled with the host city still being unconfirmed.
It is uncertain how much more time Usyk needs to get ready to compete against Gassiev, which makes things interesting, knowing that the chief promoter of the series, Sauerland Event would like to get through the finals sooner rather than later to be able to move their focus on to season two of the WBSS that has been partially announced in a press conference this week.
But who could take the empty spot in the event of Usyk’s elimination from the final?
Recently, a rumor has floated that the lucky substitutional opponent for a fight against Gassiev could be former WBC champion Mairis Briedis who lost his unbeaten record and green-and-gold belt to no other than Usyk himself.
In an exclusive in-depth interview with FightTalk.net, international boxing promoter Al Siesta spoke candidly on the chances of his fighter, Mairis Briedis replacing his successor in the WBSS final.
“Are you talking about Briedis fighting Gassiev instead of Usyk? It's never going to happen. I don't believe it's ever going to happen. I would love Mairis Briedis to fight Murat Gassiev, but if I was running the World Boxing Super Series I am going to kill my own credibility by doing that... Unless Usyk is injured! If Usyk is injured, then Mairis is the official substitute? If there is anything but an injury, it's bad business,” told the promoter to FightTalk’s Adam Noble-Forcey.
Siesta also weighed on the issue regarding the super middleweight version of the tournament, where Chris Eubank Jr is a strong candidate to take the role of the injured Groves once the London-based pugilist is unable to get ready for the fight. According to Kalle Sauerland, the promotion issued a deadline of ten days for Groves to prove he is ready to go.
“They need to wait for George Groves to fully recover, because if George Groves is not fighting Callum Smith in the final, who will be fighting Smith? Chris Eubank Jr? I suppose it depends on who is an official substitute. If Chris Eubank Jr is the official substitute, then maybe he should fight Callum Smith. But is there any interest in that fight? That's the question. Is there any credibility in that fight? People love George Groves, he is a headliner of the whole competition! So, they need to wait for him,” Siesta said.
Hopefully, all the hurdles will be cleared in the coming days and we can see a worthy ending of an exciting series of super fights.
Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
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Ruthless-RKO
- Welterweight
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Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
They should get Eubank Jr to step in
Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
So now the whole tournament is a flop... All because these greedy f-cks want the event to be somewhere that one of the fighters (finalists!) doesn't want it to.
If they f-ck up the Usyk vs Gassiev fight, I hope all their future events fail too. Because clearly these guys don't actually care about the fights or the tournament. They just want to make some money and use the tournament/belts as an incentive to lure fighters from other promoters....except there's no guarantee for the fighter they could accomplish either, because they can just be pushed out at any time. And someone else can be thrown in to take their place.
Whole thing is a sham if this happens.
If they f-ck up the Usyk vs Gassiev fight, I hope all their future events fail too. Because clearly these guys don't actually care about the fights or the tournament. They just want to make some money and use the tournament/belts as an incentive to lure fighters from other promoters....except there's no guarantee for the fighter they could accomplish either, because they can just be pushed out at any time. And someone else can be thrown in to take their place.
Whole thing is a sham if this happens.
Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
Hold the fight in Germany or the UK, take your time to sell tickets. Just leave Russia and Saudia alone. Its obvious each side have issues with holding the final in one or the other country, respectively.
And fu-k the SMW tournament. They should have been doing both tournaments concurrently. Each card with 1 fight from each tourney, so the finals have 1 fight from each too. Instead they broke down every single fight into their own card (making it twice as long, and twice as many). Which is why nobody outside Europe even bought the TV rights, they're not stupid. Heck, even ITV PPV didn't air the first round fights besides the UK fighters. That way if one of the tournaments went left, it didn't ruin the whole tourney because watching the co-finals together would make it worth it.
And fu-k the SMW tournament. They should have been doing both tournaments concurrently. Each card with 1 fight from each tourney, so the finals have 1 fight from each too. Instead they broke down every single fight into their own card (making it twice as long, and twice as many). Which is why nobody outside Europe even bought the TV rights, they're not stupid. Heck, even ITV PPV didn't air the first round fights besides the UK fighters. That way if one of the tournaments went left, it didn't ruin the whole tourney because watching the co-finals together would make it worth it.
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Ruthless-RKO
- Welterweight
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- Joined: 24 Apr 2016, 11:59
Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
They thinking of doing both 168 and 200 finals on the same card. Have a decent undercard and BAM! 2 finals done in 1 night.
Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
I'd love to see it. Briedis' fight with Usyk was razor close. Usyk still has unfinished business with Briedis if anything. Briedis/Usyk: II would be the best fight at CW. Sorry, I just don't think Gassiev is on either's level.
Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
If you read the article, Breidis' promoter ruled it out. Said it ruins all credibility. And he's absolutely right!
That was my idea for the whole tournament! Not just the finals, but that every card has 2 fights. One from each tourney. Event would have been half as long, and more incentive for people to watch and networks to buy the rights to.Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑14 May 2018, 17:42 They thinking of doing both 168 and 200 finals on the same card. Have a decent undercard and BAM! 2 finals done in 1 night.
Even i tuned out after the first 2-3 cards, and then only returned during the semis when it was worth watching. 9 freaking cards. Can you imagine that? What was wrong with doing 5?!
Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
usy-gass not happenng would bother me a lot more then groves- smth not happenng
Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
Not at all. What credibility? Usyk barely won that fight. It was a razor-thin margin. Briedis and Usyk meeting up again after Briedis beats Gassiev would pretty much settle the tournament.
Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
Are you blind? Its BREIDIS' promoter who is saying this. You know what's better for Breidis than himself?
And the credibility he's talking about is the tournament's. READ THE ARTICLE. Not their own fight/judging.
Breidis would love to fight Usyk/Gassiev. This is about REPLACING Usyk and fighting GASSIEV. Which loses credibility.
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Datsue
- Heavyweight
Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
I'm a fan talking about Briedis/Gassiev. I don't care what the hell his promoter thinks. There would be no lost credibility if Gassiev and Briedis meet up and the winner fights Usyk, none. You'd care what the hell Don King thinks if that was Briedis' promoter? I'd think not. The tournament would be fine putting Briedis to meet Gassiev in the finals. Usyk barely won their fight.DA1 wrote: ↑15 May 2018, 02:47Are you blind? Its BREIDIS' promoter who is saying this. You know what's better for Breidis than himself?
And the credibility he's talking about is the tournament's. READ THE ARTICLE. Not their own fight/judging.
Breidis would love to fight Usyk/Gassiev. This is about REPLACING Usyk and fighting GASSIEV. Which loses credibility.
Re: Promoter: "If Usyk is Injured, I'd Love Briedis To Face Gassiev."
No it doesn't. Usyk is completely healthy, he merely asks to fight on Neutral ground.Mexi-Box wrote: ↑15 May 2018, 17:28
I'm a fan talking about Briedis/Gassiev. I don't care what the hell his promoter thinks. There would be no lost credibility if Gassiev and Briedis meet up and the winner fights Usyk, none. You'd care what the hell Don King thinks if that was Briedis' promoter? I'd think not. The tournament would be fine putting Briedis to meet Gassiev in the finals. Usyk barely won their fight.
Replacing a fight because of that, and inserting someone else to take his places LOSES ALL CREDIBILITY for the tournament. It literally says "We can replace you, or throw out the the titles you enter the tournament to win, if we can make an extra buck...but you will not be consulted."
There is NO point in entering a tournament, if someone else can literally pay to kick you out.