BoxRec

undefeated cruiserweight Jai Opetaia (22-0, 17 KOs) overcame a broken jaw to dethrone IBF cruiserweight world champion Mairis Breidis (28-2, 20 KOs) via a hard-fought twelve round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. Scores were 116-112, 115-113, 116-112.

Bet Lawrence Okolie gutted he didnt get the chance to beat Bredis.

Great fight. Opetaia started strong but bredis came back near the end.


Opetaia is one gutsy fighter. Excellent boxer too well deserved

jai was on fire first half, schooled bridies, had him busted up. amir khan type hand speed and good distancing that was befuddling briedis

in the 7th briedis rocked jai a bit with a right hand high on the head. from there briedis began a comeback and landed a lot more regularly. hurt jai in the 10th and 12th, though jai had his moments too in some of the second half rounds. in the last 30 seconds jai's jaw got super messed up and his mouth was gaping and bloody. he looked pretty hurt and if that fight was a minute longer who knows if he'd make .

a well deserved decision in what ended up being a tough tough fight after he made it look easy early. will need some time out with that nasty jaw injury. the jaw looked fine enough until the final seconds, but mustve got further broken

Tremendous fight.

I had it 116-112. 6 swing rounds and 6 clear rounds so I’m glad there wasn’t a draw or mental score card given.

Deserved win and did it the hard way. Jaw blew up in the 11th and was horrifically disfigured for the last round.

Balls of steel. Time to start bigging up Okolie v JO.

Was it controversial or did JO deserve it?

Spud wrote: ↑02 Jul 2022, 10:03 Was it controversial or did JO deserve it?

Deserved bud.

Loved the RBR on the current scene … thank you

well deserved, but damn his jaw is f@cked up . not sure how much he'll be able to celebrate tonight!

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑02 Jul 2022, 10:06 well deserved, but damn his jaw is f@cked up . not sure how much he'll be able to celebrate tonight!

Couldn’t do his interview afterwards. Just made a noise like Bigfoot at the end.

Hopefully doesn’t keep him out for long!

Seems the rematch is on according to twitter

Spud wrote: ↑02 Jul 2022, 10:03 Was it controversial or did JO deserve it?

100 %
even though he was hanging on in the last few rounds and getting hurt .

it was a fight of 2 halves basically............but jai had enough moments in the 2nd to add on to his first half dominance and edge it

i didnt keep a score running, but think i favoured jai in 1-6 and then gave him the 9th too.

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑02 Jul 2022, 11:00 it was a fight of 2 halves basically............but jai had enough moments in the 2nd to add on to his first half dominance and edge it

I give the back 6 to MB minus the 7th and 9th who I edged for JO. The first 6 I give to JO minus the 3rd.
I think.

Dioufy wrote: ↑02 Jul 2022, 11:06

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑02 Jul 2022, 11:00 it was a fight of 2 halves basically............but jai had enough moments in the 2nd to add on to his first half dominance and edge it

I give the back 6 to MB minus the 9th who I edged for JO. The first 6 I give to JO minus the 3rd.
I think.

similar to whaat i saw............as i added above, i think i gave jai 1-6 + 9, briedis 7-8 + 10-12. though i didnt keep a score going

Glass Joe wrote: ↑02 Jul 2022, 09:53 undefeated cruiserweight Jai Opetaia (22-0, 17 KOs) overcame a broken jaw to dethrone IBF cruiserweight world champion Mairis Breidis (28-2, 20 KOs) via a hard-fought twelve round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. Scores were 116-112, 115-113, 116-112.

Bet Lawrence Okolie gutted he didnt get the chance to beat Bredis.

Breidis isnt finished for sure and will realise inactivity hasnt helped his cause , he wants some big €€€ fights and the okolie one would be well paid no doubt .
He will no doubt want a rematch with JO .

I think I give the 7th to JO.

JO
JO
MB
JO
JO
JO
JO
MB
JO
MB
MB
MB

I give you the wrong score. I thought 116-112 but I had it 7-5; closer than what I thought and could’ve easily been a draw.

rematch would be interesting..................jai is much younger, deservedly won, and has gained valuable experience. how often does a guy MB's age turn the result around vs a guy a decade younger who beat him?

but at the same time it was briedis who really came on and had jai hanging on

Jesus looking back that was pretty close. I give 4 of the 6 close rounds to JO; just liked what he did a touch more.
But I can definitely see an argument for a draw or a MB v close steal.
Bit gutted I misread that live.

Incredible performance from Opetaia, 116-112 for me, skill and bravery shown in there for all to see, I thought for first 6/7 rounds he was near punch perfect, boxing behind the southpaw jab and shooting out the straight left, constantly moving and outmanoeuvring Briedis, rocked him with a beautiful lead right uppercut at end of 4th, really textbook stuff but Briedis just kept plugging away and closed the gap in the later rounds as Opetaia got more ragged, obviously the broken jaw must've been agony, Briedis really poured it on in the championship rounds, landing rights while Opetaia looked to hold, still he seen it out like a champ Opetaia and was a deserved winner

The result is OK. I had it 115-113 for Opetaia. Briedis should be given credit for trying even afer getting busted up, but his effort wasn't enough.

I thought I was watching Gvosdyk in there.