Jai Opetaia and Mairis Briedis will run it back again in Saudi Arabia on the undercard of Fury vs Usyk. There is a solid chance that both fighters will go home with a lot of money. Here is our Opetaia vs Briedis purse analysis.
Opetaia vs Briedis Purse: Expensive 3-Fight Deal
This will be one of the biggest boxing events in recent history, which suggests that there will be a lot of money involved.
Of course, all eyes will be focused on the long-anticipated clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk but the undercard shouldn’t be neglected.
Jai Opetaia has been winning good money recently and funnily enough, he was stripped of his world title exactly because he wanted to make more money.
The IBF tried to force Jai to fight Briedis in December as he was the mandatory challenger but Opetaia said that he cannot decline such a massive offer from Saudi Arabia.
Reportedly, he signed a 3-fight deal and his total income from it would measure at least $2 million. It appears that he made at least $680,000 as a guaranteed purse from his fight with Ellis Zorro in December.
This means that he will earn at least $1.3 mil from his next two fights. If we assume that his contract features three fairly similar salaries, we can predict that his cut from the Opetaia vs Briedis purse will be at least $650,000.
There have been some reports that Opetaia will get $500k as a guaranteed purse but we believe that this figure is a bit low at this point.
As for Briedis, the information is far more limited. There is no doubt that his cut will be far smaller for this fight. The early reports suggest that he will get at least $300,000 as a guaranteed purse and this sum does feel right.
Jai Opetaia vs Mairis Briedis: Here’s Why You Don’t Want to Miss This Fight
While we already discussed the Opetaia vs Briedis purse, we feel the urge to explain why this fight will be better than anticipated. Here are the two contestants for the vacant IBF cruiserweight belt.
Jai Opetaia is a 28-year-old Australian boxer who began his professional career in 2015. Since then, he has had 24 fights and won 24 victories, 19 of which ended in a knockout. Jai is known for his powerful punch and excellent sense of timing.
Mairis Briedis is a 39-year-old Latvian boxer who made his professional debut in 2009. During his career, he fought 30 fights, of which he won 28, 20 of them by knockout. Mairis is known for his technical skills, good physical conditioning, and tenacity in the ring.
What makes this fight important despite the 11-year gap between them? First of all, it is for the IBF world title, again. Second of all, it is a rematch.
The two met in the ring in 2022 and the fight was absolutely brutal. Opetaia won by decision but Briedis managed to break his jaw in two places. Even at this age, the Latvian remains dangerous and will come out for the knockout.
With the huge Opetaia vs Briedis purse and a world title on the line, this fight promises to be spectacular.
