MAIRIS BRIEDIS will make his ring return on July 21 in Edinburgh.
The former world cruiserweight number one fights on the Lee McGregor-Erik Robles Ayala undercard at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in the Scottish capital.
Briedis is expected to fight over eight rounds with an opponent still to be announced. The 38-year-old Latvian will then hope to push on to bigger fights later in the year.
Eleven months ago, Briedis lost his top spot in the 200lbs division when Jai Opetaia caused one of the upsets of 2022 beating the champion in Australia. That defeat was only the second of his career, the other coming against Oleksandr Usyk in their thrilling fight five years ago in a World Boxing Super Series semi-final.
Fighting in Edinburgh will represent the second time that Briedis has fought in the UK. The first came in October 2016 when he stopped an overmatched Simon Vallily in three rounds on the Tony Bellew-BJ Flores undercard in Liverpool.
Briedis tried to make a different kind of fight early in 2022 when he launched his own campaign to secure a bout against YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul. Briedis went as far as to get a tattoo on his left thigh that read “Jake’s Bad Karma” which sat above the design of a bull with red eyes. Paul v Briedis never happened.
The current world cruiserweight scene experienced a change last month when Chris Billam-Smith out-fought Lawrence Okolie to win the WBO belt. Briedis’ conqueror Jai Opetaia has been ordered by the IBF to face Richard Riakporhe after Mateusz Masternak withdrew from his position as mandatory challenger. Badou Jack and Arsen Goulamirian hold the remaining two belts in the division.
