On Saturday in Riga Mairis Briedis (28-1, 20 KOs) stopped Arthur Mann (17-2, 9 KOs) in the third round, defending his IBF cruiserweight title.
In the main event of the evening, IBF cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis (28-1, 20 KOs) scored a third round TKO victory over Artur Mann (17-2, 9 KOs) at the Riga Arena in Latvia. The time was 2:59.
Mairis Briedis (27-1, 19 KOs) and Artur Mann (17-1, 9 KOs) both appeared to be within the bounds of the heavyweight norm at the official weigh-in ceremony in Riga. The fight will be staked on the Latvian's IBF world title. The winner will have to fight Jaim Opetaia, the official IBF belt contender, not later than in April. Briedis weighed 90kg, Mann weighed 90.2kg.
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 in Riga.
Live broadcast of the boxing evening from South Africa, in the main event of which the local IBO cruiserweight champion Kevin Lerena (21-1, 9 KOs) will defend his title in a fight against the undefeated German-based Kazakh Arthur Mann (15-0, 8 KOs).