2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – Cruiserweight Division
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The 2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – cruiserweight division was a
World Boxing Super Series The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is a professional boxing tournament organised by Comosa AG. Each weight class features eight boxers competing in an annual knockout competition with the champion from each weight class taking the Muhammad Al ...
professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
tournament that took place between September 2017 and July 2018 in several countries. The Super Series featured eight top-rated cruiserweight boxers in a
single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
. Its winner will hold world titles for all four of boxing's major sanctioning bodies,
The Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...
title, as well as the
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
trophy. The tournament was organized by Comosa AG. A
super middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...
tournament was held concurrently, with prize money for both competitions totalling US$50 million. At the start of the cruiserweight portion of the tournament, the world championship titles recognized by the four different sanctioning bodies WBA (established 1921), WBC (est. 1963), IBF (est. 1983) and
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...
(est. 1988)were held by four different boxers. All four of these boxers participated in the tournament, resulting in the eventual tournament champion,
Oleksandr Usyk Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk (, ; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the unified champion (boxing), unified heavyweight championship since 2021, and the ''The Ring (magazine), Ring'' magazine title since 2022 ...
, becoming only the fourth boxer in history to become the undisputed champion of a weight class by holding the world titles from all four these sanctioning bodies.


Participants



*
Krzysztof Głowacki Krzysztof Głowacki (born 31 July 1986) is a Polish professional boxer who has held the WBO junior-heavyweight title twice; from 2015 to 2016 and again in 2019 (elevated from interim champion). As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the super-h ...
and
Mateusz Masternak Mateusz Masternak (born 2 May 1987 in Iwaniska, Poland) is a Polish professional boxer fighting in the Cruiserweight (boxing), Cruiserweight division. He is a former European Boxing Union, EBU (European) Cruiserweight champion. Amateur career Ma ...
are tournament reserves.


Bracket

The format of the tournament required four seeded fighters to each choose their opponent from the four remaining unseeded fighters in a draft. The seeded fighters were determined by the organizers. The draft took place on July 8, 2017, in a gala hosted by actress Melanie Winiger in
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
. Per IBF rules, Gassiev had to defend his title against Włodarczyk before facing anyone else. Therefore, that matchup was pre-arranged before the draft.


Quarterfinals


Usyk vs. Huck

In the inaugural match of the Super Series, top-seeded
Oleksandr Usyk Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk (, ; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the unified champion (boxing), unified heavyweight championship since 2021, and the ''The Ring (magazine), Ring'' magazine title since 2022 ...
sought to defend his title against
Marco Huck Muamer Hukić (born 11 November 1984), best known as Marco Huck, is a Bosniaks in Germany, Bosniak German professional boxer.. Retrieved 2015-12-01. He held the World Boxing Organization, WBO cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight title from 2009 ...
. At the weigh-in, Usyk hitting the scales at precisely 199 lbs, while Huck weighed-in at 198 lbs. The fight took place at
Max-Schmeling-Halle Max-Schmeling-Halle is a multi-purpose arena, in Berlin, Germany, named after the famous German boxer Max Schmeling. Apart from Uber Arena and the Velodrom, it is one of Berlin's biggest indoor sports arenas and holds from 8,861 people, up to 12 ...
and was announced by
Jimmy Lennon Jr. James Frederick "Jimmy" Lennon Jr. (born August 5, 1958) is an American boxing ring announcer who was employed primarily by Showtime (TV network), Showtime and Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports as ring announcer for their ''Showtime Champion ...
At the final press conference, a bit of controversy occurred during the head to head photo, where Huck pushed his opponent Usyk. The first Super Series quarter-final saw Usyk successfully retain his WBO title and advance to the semi-finals after the referee stepped in to stop the encounter and save Huck from further punishment. The official time of the stoppage was 2:16 in round 10. Usyk had little trouble in the fight. Huck provided heart and toughness, showing he was certainly not a pushover but Usyk's boxing skills were too much, completely outboxing Huck and continuously landing punches. The win was Usyk's third successful title defense, and sees him advance to the next stage of the Super Series. The undercard was headlined by a bout between Noel Gevor and
Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III ( ; born April 30, 1961), also known as "Zeke", is an American former professional basketball player who is head coach of the Saginaw Soul of the Basketball Super League, and also an analyst for NBA TV and Fox Sports. H ...
. Both fighters were coming off losses, but Gevor got the win via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 100–89 in favor of Gevor.


Dorticos vs. Kudryashov

The second Super Series cruiserweight quarterfinal featured
Yuniel Dorticos Yuniel Dorticós Pao (born 11 March 1986) is a Cuban professional boxer. He is a former cruiserweight world champion, having held the WBA (Regular) title from 2017 to 2018 and the IBF title from 2019 to 2020. Amateur career He placed second t ...
defending his
WBA (Regular) The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded i ...
title against Dmitry Kudryashov. The bout generated some expectation, as Kudryashov and Dorticos were both known as knockout punchers, with 42 out of 43 of their combined previous fights ending by way of knockout. This will be the Super Series' first match in the United States. A percentage of the gate revenue will be donated to the San Antonio Food Bank to aid victims of
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. At the official weigh-in, Dmitry Kudryashov initially missed weight by half a pound, coming in at 200 1⁄2 lbs. However, he was able to come in at exactly 200 lbs in a second try 45 minutes later. Dorticos weighed in at 199 lbs. On fight night, Dorticos retained his title and advanced to the semi-finals by knocking out Kudryashov in just 2 rounds. The fight started with a slow-paced, feel out round, with both boxers studying their opponent. Dorticos successfully executed a pull counter as the bell sounded. In round 2, the pace of the fight increased, with Dorticos and Kudryashov trading combinations. Eventually, Dorticos gained the upper hand by landing a series of
one-two combo In boxing, the "one-two combo" is the name given to the combination consisting of two common punches found in boxing – a jab (thrown with the lead hand) followed by the cross (thrown with the back hand). In boxing parlance, fundamental punches ...
s, as Kudryashov retreated behind his high guard. Dorticos ended the contest by knocking out Kudryashov with a right hook. The referee waived the count with a minute left in round 2. In the undercard, Keith Tapia won a wide
unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...
over
Lateef Kayode Lateef Olalekan Kayode (born March 3, 1983) is a Nigerian professional boxer who challenged for the WBA cruiserweight title in 2015. Early life Lateef Olalalekin Kayode was born in Lagos, Nigeria. Professional career On December 3, 2010 Kay ...
(100–89, 100–89, 99–90), having dropped him once at the end of round 6. Earlier, four-weight world champion
Nonito Donaire Nonito Gonzales Donaire Jr. ( ; ; born November 16, 1982) is a Filipino American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, from flyweight to featherweight, and is the oldest boxer in history to win a ...
defeated Rubén García Hernández by unanimous decision (100–90, 99–91, 97–93) for the
WBC Silver The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...
featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...
title.


Briedis vs. Perez

Mairis Briedis defended his WBC cruiserweight title against Mike Perez in the third WBSS cruiserweight quarterfinal. This was Perez's second fight as a cruiserweight, after he came down from the
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
division following a TKO loss to
Alexander Povetkin Alexander Vladimirovich Povetkin (; born 2 September 1979) is a Russian former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2021. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) ( Regular version) heavyweight title from 2011 to 2013; the World Boxing ...
. The bout took place in Briedis' hometown of
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
, at the eponymous
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. At the official weigh-in, Briedis tipped the scales at 198 1⁄2 lbs, while Mike Perez came in lighter, at 197 1⁄3 lbs. Briedis won a scrappy fight in his hometown, beating Mike Perez by unanimous decision after 12 rounds (116–110, 114–112, 115–111). Perez was deducted a point in round 3 following an accidental headbutt. Briedis was also docked a point during round 10 for excessive holding. With the win, Briedis moves on to the semifinals to face top-seeded
Oleksandr Usyk Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk (, ; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the unified champion (boxing), unified heavyweight championship since 2021, and the ''The Ring (magazine), Ring'' magazine title since 2022 ...
. The undercard saw tournament reserve
Krzysztof Głowacki Krzysztof Głowacki (born 31 July 1986) is a Polish professional boxer who has held the WBO junior-heavyweight title twice; from 2015 to 2016 and again in 2019 (elevated from interim champion). As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the super-h ...
beat Leonardo Bruzesse via 5th-round knockout and
super heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and bodybuilding, competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Int ...
Olympic medalist
Filip Hrgović Filip Hrgović (born 4 June 1992) is a Croatian professional boxer. He has challenged once for the International Boxing Federation, IBF Interim championship, interim heavyweight title in 2024. As an Amateur boxing, amateur, he won the gold medal ...
dominate and defeat Zumbano Love via TKO in the first round in his professional debut.


Gassiev vs. Włodarczyk

The final cruiserweight quarterfinal match was between IBF champion
Murat Gassiev Murat Georgievich Gassiev (; ; born 12 October 1993) is a Russian former unified cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2016 to 2018, and the WBA (Unified) title in 2018. Background Gassiev is from Vladikavkaz, the ca ...
and former IBF and WBC champion Krzysztof Włodarczyk. the fight would take place in
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at the
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on 21 October 2017. One of the main factors for the fight taking place in New Jersey was due to the Polish population in that state. At the official weigh-in, Gassiev tipped the scales at 199 lb, while Włodarczyk weighed 199 1⁄2 lb. Gassiev delivered a dominant 3rd-round KO, retaining his IBF title and securing his place in the semi-finals. Gassiev was in control the opening two rounds working away on Włodarczyk. Midway through round 3, having Włodarczyk against the ropes, Gassiev connected with a left uppercut to the head, which was immediately followed by a left to the body, dropping Włodarczyk on all fours, flat on the canvas. Włodarczyk, clearly in pain, failed to beat the 10 count. The official time of stoppage was 1:57 of the round. Gassiev, who was pleased with his performance, said, "I had a great opponent tonight. I prepared myself for a tough fight, but it is boxing, and anything can happen. We do a lot of work in the gym, and I just listened to my coach round after round, and he told me what I needed to do. That's all I needed." Włodarczyk accepted defeat admitting the better man won. On the undercard,
Maciej Sulęcki Maciej Sulęcki (born 2 May 1989) is a Polish professional boxer who challenged for the WBO middleweight title in 2019. Amateur career Sulecki had a 110–30 record as an amateur, becoming a three-time Polish Junior champion. Professional ...
defeated
Jack Culcay Jack Robert Culcay-Keth (born 26 September 1985) is an Ecuadorian-born German retired professional boxer. As an amateur he represented Germany, fighting at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the welterweight division, and winning a silver medal at the ...
via unanimous decision, and tournament alternate
Mateusz Masternak Mateusz Masternak (born 2 May 1987 in Iwaniska, Poland) is a Polish professional boxer fighting in the Cruiserweight (boxing), Cruiserweight division. He is a former European Boxing Union, EBU (European) Cruiserweight champion. Amateur career Ma ...
beat Stivens Bujaj.


Semifinals

All four pre-tournament champions emerged from the quarterfinals, retaining their respective cruiserweight world champion titles: Usyk as champion of the
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...
; Briedis as champion of the WBC; Gassiev as champion of the IBF; and Dorticos as champion of the WBA. This meant that each semifinal bout would result in a champion unifying two sanctioning bodies' titles.


Usyk vs. Briedis

On 27 January 2018, Usyk defeated Briedis by a majority decision, becoming the unified WBC–WBO champion.


Gassiev vs. Dorticos

On 3 February 2018, Gassiev defeated Dorticos by a technical knockout in the 12th round, becoming the unified WBA–IBF champion.


Final

Initially, the final was scheduled for 11 May 2018 in
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...
, Saudi Arabia, but later it was rescheduled for 21 July 2018 in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, Russia. Usyk defeated Gassiev by a unanimous decision, unifying the cruiserweight titles of all four major sanctioning organizations, becoming the undisputed cruiserweight world champion.


See also

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2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – super middleweight division The 2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – super middleweight division was a World Boxing Super Series professional boxing tournament taking place between September 2017 and September 2018 in several countries. The Super Series features eight top ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 World Boxing Super Series - cruiserweight division World Boxing Super Series
World Boxing Super Series The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is a professional boxing tournament organised by Comosa AG. Each weight class features eight boxers competing in an annual knockout competition with the champion from each weight class taking the Muhammad Al ...
World Boxing Super Series The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is a professional boxing tournament organised by Comosa AG. Each weight class features eight boxers competing in an annual knockout competition with the champion from each weight class taking the Muhammad Al ...