Arthur Mann (17-1, 9 KOs) will be the next opponent for the IBF world heavyweight champion Māris Briedis (27-1, 19 KOs). The fight will take place on October 16 at the gala event in Riga.
Briedis was originally supposed to defend his belt against mandatory challenger Michal Cieslak (21-1, 15 KOs), but because of legal and organizational problems on the Polish side Cieslak has to wait for his chance for the title.
An interesting fact is that Mann, who has not fought in any fights since June 2020, moved up from 12th to 6th in the latest IBF rankings, thus becoming an officially "available" highest ranked contender.