Jai Opetaia’s Win Over Mairis Briedis Branded as Robbery by Fans

It was a rerun of their high-voltage contest that left them bloodied and with broken body parts back in 2022. While Jai Opetaia left the ring with a broken jaw, Mairis Briedis had a broken nose. Fast forward to 2024, and they fought another electrifying encounter with the same strap on the line they last time fought for. However, it was again the Australian fighter, who stood tall and now held sway in the cruiserweight division, taking over from Oleksandr Usyk.

While Opetaia had come into the fight on the heels of a couple of impressive wins, ring rust concerns plagued Briedis. Eventually, ‘daddy time’ and ring-rust led to a heavy beatdown for the Latvian fighter. Notably, Opetaia secured the win as he swept the judges’ scorecard.

Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Briedis: A violent replay of the 2022 encounter

Both cruiserweight boxers seized each other up, but it was Opetaia who drew the first punch. He assumed the aggressor’s role. Meanwhile, Briedis took some time to find some footing. But that changed in the second round, as he came out all guns blazing without heed to his defense, and Opetaia made him pay with a one-two and several heavy punches. The same story got repeated in the third round as Briedis became more adventurous in the initial moments of the round. But his output would drop again as Opetaia countered and later connected lefts. Not only did Opetaia control the distance, but he also focused on the body shots.

The 28-year-old carried the same momentum in the fourth and fifth rounds as he landed some cracking left shots and a blood fountain came gushing from Briedis’ face. He moved forward and ripped apart Briedis, which was an exact repeat of their 2022 showdown. The one-way traffic for Opetaia continued in the subsequent round, and Briedis’ ring rust held him up from executing his game plan. Briedis’ experience also didn’t prove of any use against Opetaia’s onslaught.

There was some late fight drama in the 10th round, as Briedis caught Opetaia with a jab, followed by an uppercut, which had Opetaia rocked. He dictated the pace and put on the pressure in the championship rounds, which came a bit too late. The fans wanted violence, and they got it. However, some differed about how they saw the fight scored.

How did the fans react to the bloody affair?

A user believed that Briedis had done enough to get his hand raised, but the decision went against him. They declared, “Mairis got robbed.”

A fan was upset with the scoring as the judges awarded the fight to Opetaia with scores of 116-112 (x2) and 117-111. They called it “bullsh*t” as Briedis had a late surge and put on a competitive fight in the later rounds.

Someone believed that Opetaia failed to tame the 39-year-old despite the age disparity. According to them, Opetaia didn’t “deserve” to win as he couldn’t evade Briedis’ shots. They said, “Didn’t deserve it, can’t run from a 40 year old man.”

Another comment pointed at the turnaround Briedis had after the sixth round as he dominated the later rounds, especially last 4 ones. This late resurgence could be attributed to his ring rust as this was his first fight in almost 2 years. The comment read, “Shame Briedis decided only to fight for 4 rounds.”

Lastly, a fan stressed on the bloodied face and a nose cut that Briedis sustained in the fight. They announced, “Opetia battered him.”

What do you think of this amusing fight between Jai Opetaia and Mairis Briedis on the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury card? Let us know in the comments below.