The combatants in two of the three finals in the World Boxing Series have now been set: at bantamweight, WBA champion Nonito Donaire faces IBF champion Naoya Inoue, while at junior welterweight, WBC champion Regis Prograis will be matched against IBF counterpart Josh Taylor. No dates for those fights have been announced yet. Next up for the tournament, however, are the cruiserweight semi-final showdowns, set for June 15th at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia. With last year's WBSS winner, Oleksandr Usyk still holding onto the cruiserweight titles, the Muhammad Ali Trophy will go to the survivor of these two bouts: hometown hero Mairis Briedis, who will face Krzysztof Glowacki or Yunier Dorticos who will battle Andrew Tabiti for the two spots in the cruiserweight final.

 

“We cannot wait to find our last finalists for the Ali Trophy,” said promoter Kalle Sauerland, Comosa’s Chief Boxing Officer. “But is it impossible to predict winners in these explosive match-ups. The throne in cruiserweight is empty and all four have the potential to be the new king. Briedis is obviously excited for the chance at redemption after dropping a majority decision to Usyk in last year’s semi-final, but he is up against a hard-hitting warrior in shape of Glowacki who has promised to bring war to Riga. Dorticos and Tabiti have a very entertaining beef right now going on at social media, and they both want to prove they are the best cruiserweight in the world. One thing is certain, we are in for another treat on June 15th.”

 

Tickets for the doubleheader in RIga are on sale from: bilesuserviss.lv.