On Saturday, March 21, current champion Yuniel Dorticos goes up against favored challenger Mairis Briedis for the IBF Cruiserweight Title on DAZN. Dorticos is 24-1 in his career with 22 knockouts, while Briedis is 26-1 with 19 knockouts. Dorticos and Briedis will take place at Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia and will be featured on DAZN with the main card coverage beginning at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. Let’s look at the bout and boxing picks.
Mairis Briedis: -240
Yuniel Dorticos: +200
Over/Under Rounds: Check Back Later
Mairis Briedis (26-1, 19 knockouts)
In his last six fights, Briedis has five wins and one loss. He defeated Marco Huck by unanimous decision, Mike Perez by unanimous decision, Brandon Deslaurier by unanimous decision, Noel Gevor by unanimous decision, and Krzysztof Glowacki by TKO in the third round; while losing to Oleksandr Usyk by majority decision. Briedis gets a knockout win 70.37% of the time.
Briedis said this to worldboxingnews.net about his upcoming bout against Dorticos, “My nickname used to be the ‘Traumatologist’ and two doctors are going to face each other in the ring, so let’s see who comes out on top. To win the trophy would be a great celebration for Latvia, but now it’s about putting in the hard work to not let anyone down. I believe we can expect a great fight because my opponent is a great fighter. I hope he is not just a loudspeaker and I’m happy the fight is taking place in Riga. It’s additional weight on my shoulders, but we’ll be ready.
Yuniel Dorticos (24-1, 22 knockouts)
In his last six fights, Dorticos has five wins and one loss. He defeated Fulgencio Zuniga by TKO in the second round, Youri Kayembre Kalenga by TKO in the 10th round, Dmitry Kudryashov by KO in the second round, Mateusz Masternak by unanimous decision, and Andrew Tabiti by KO in the 10th round; while losing to Murat Gassiev by TKO in the 12th round. Dorticos gets a knockout win 88% of the time.
Dorticos said this to worldboxingnews.net “I’m excited to be here, I feel like I’m at home here in Latvia. My prediction is simple; on March 21st you will know why I’m called the ‘KO Doctor’. I’m humbled to be part of this tournament and fight for the Muhammad Ali Trophy. That trophy has my name on it and I’m going to take it home.”
Pedro Roque, Dortico’s coach said this to the media, “Dorticos has progressed and learned a whole lot from his last fights and the new version of the champion will showcase his ring IQ boxing skills from the Cuban school and of course his extraordinary power. We don’t look at anything other than Briedis’ dirty tactics in which the whole world has seen in previous fights. Dorticos is a clean fighter and every time he gets into the ring he wants to put up a show and give boxing fans around the world the best of him. His boxing skills are on a different level and he can box or bang if need to so don’t blink come fight night because the lights might be off. When the bell rings we are ready to fight 1 round or 12 rounds. The champion has mentioned a KO and that might just happen anytime.”
Boxing Picks
Dorticos and Briedis are the two top boxers in the cruiserweight division and this fight looks even. It is a bit surprising that Briedis is more than a 2-1 favorite. I think the value is on Dorticos so I will take him to win by knockout and the rounds to go under the total.
Boxing Pick: Dorticos by knockout and the rounds to go under the total
With the boxing odds at BookMaker Sportsbook, you can bet on boxing all year, from smaller cards to pay-per-view events. Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook. Dorticos and Briedis will take place at Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia on Saturday, March 21 and will be featured on DAZN.
