Briedis: "I Didn't Lose to Usyk"

In an interview with the YouTube channel Aija Nagle, former world cruiserweight champion (up to 90.7 kg) Mairis Briedis (28-2, 20 KOs) reflected on his fight against the champion of the WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO in the heavyweight division (over 90.7 kg) Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs).

"When the fight with Usyk happened – I don't consider that I lost. There was sports politics involved. Why? Because at that time, I didn't have a promoter. In reality, having a promoter helps a lot, especially when you have your own judges and the like.

It's a matter of karma. I'm very happy for Usyk. Where he is now and what he's doing – I doubt I could have achieved what he has if the result had been different at that time. We fought tooth and nail, and in the final rounds, it was such that Usyk later said he couldn't understand where he was and saw a black picture before his eyes. I don't consider that a loss. It's written on paper, but the reality was completely different. And I'm happy with such a fight," said Briedis.

The fight between Usyk and Briedis took place in January 2018 in Riga, Latvia. In that bout, the Ukrainian won by majority decision, marking the first loss in the Latvian's career.