WBSS Cruiserweight Semifinal Odds – The World Boxing Super Series continues their Cruiserweight tournament returns in 2018 with two semifinal bouts.
The first bout is set for January 27th in Riga, Latvia as WBC world cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis (23-0) hosts tournament favorite and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk (13-0).
Usyk is as technically sound as they come and that fact has him slotted as the favorite. He trains with the same team that has given us featherweight phenom Vasyl Lomachenko and he has been similarly dominant as a professional. His amateur experience means he has fought in places like Latvia before and the bookies are not crediting Briedis’ home field advantage in making Usyk the favorite.
Briedis, like Usyk, has a win over long-time champion Maro Huck on his resume. Huck went the distance with Briedis while he fell to Usyk in round 10 in Usyk’s quarterfinal win. In the opening round, Briedis defeated Mike Perez, a former heavyweight, but his was the only quarter-final that went the distance. Briedis does have 18 KOs in his 23 wins so he will be looking to stop Usyk.
February 3rd sees the action switch to Russia as IBF world titlist Murat Gassiev (23-0) faces WBA champion Yunier Dorticos (22-0). This one features a much tighter line as this is a fight that could go either way. All four men in the tournament are big guys who could eventually wind up fighting in the heavyweight division and all four are dangerous punchers. But in the case of Dorticos and Gassiev, you are talking about two guys who come in with the intent of removing the opponent’s head from his shoulders.
The opening round saw both men flash their power as Gassiev made short work of Polish veteran Krzysztof Wlodarczyk this past October in New Jersey while Dorticos blasted Dmitry Kudryashov into dreamland at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio.
Gassiev is the younger of the two men and at 24 years old he has a strong future ahead of him. The home field advantage for Gassiev is there but with a fighter like Dorticos it doesn’t count for much. Dorticos has a wide amateur background from his native Cuba and he has fought under hostile conditions in the past.
The World Boxing Super Series is also delivering their 168 pound super middleweight quaarterfinals in February of 2018. Look for more details on those fights here at GMS.
On a side note, Gassiev and Dorticos both fought their quarter-final bouts in the United States, the only WBSS tournament bouts to go down on American soil. With few American participants and none of them advancing to the semis, it is doubtful the tournament will return to the USA. The importance of the tournament will hopefully lead to the semi-finals and finals airing on American television.
The two semi-finals pit the four owners of the major world titles which means the WBSS winner will have unified the titles in the cruiserweight division. The finals are scheduled for the May time frame. This is high level stuff as it is notable that all four champions enter the semi-finals undefeated. Below are the semi-final odds as we enter the New Year’s.
WBSS Cruiserweight Semifinal Odds
January 27th
12 rounds – Arena Riga – Riga, Latvia
Oleksandr Usyk -850
Mairis Briedis +575
February 3rd
12 rounds – Bolshoy Ice Dome – Adler, Russia
Yunier Dorticos +150
Murat Gassiev -170
WBSS Cruiserweight Semifinal Odds / Check out more boxing news and features at The Sweet Science.
[related_post_one]
The NFL heads into the playoffs. Get all your football info right here.
