It seems the Mairis Briedis v Krzysztof Glowacki cruiserweight bout was for the World Boxing Organization after all.
Sky Sports stated in their coverage and the WBSS in the ring on the night, that both the WBC and WBO belts were withdrawn from the contest.
In the pre-fight announcements, Glowacki was never introduced as the WBO champion despite being handed the belt during fight week.
Failure for the WBC and WBO to agree on the officials seemed to have resulted in Briedis v Glowacki being non-title.
The WBO, hours later than usual, eventually moved to confirm the belt was up for grabs.
Congrats to the new WBO Jr. Heavyweight Champion Mairis Briedis (26-1, 19 KOs) who defeated Krzysztof Glowacki (31-2, 19 KOs) via 3rd-round TKO as part of the World Boxing Super Series semi-final held in Riga, Latvia pic.twitter.com/6iQFdjd41T
— WBO (@WorldBoxingOrg) June 16, 2019
Briedis won the fight in highly controversial circumstances. The Latvian was declared the champion despite not pictured with any world title belt.
From what transpired in Riga, there was no evidence to suggest the WBO 200 pound title was present for the semi-final.
That was until the WBO spoke out.
FIGHT REPORT
Mairis Briedis won through to the World Boxing Super Series Final after what was a highly farcical victory over Krzysztof Glowacki in Riga.
Winning the opener, Briedis then took a hard shot to the back of the head. The Latvian retaliated squarely in front of referee Robert Byrd with a shocking elbow to the jaw.
The blow was a solid one and could have knocked many cruiserweights to the ground.
In a delayed reaction, Glowacki did hit the floor but Byrd told the Pole to get on his feet.
Seconds later, Glowacki was dropped by Briedis right at the end of the round. With just seconds remaining, noise from the crowd drowned out the bell, which was frantically rung for around twenty seconds.
Briedis knocked Glowacki down again amidst chaotic scenes. At one point, it looked as though the fight was called off.
Glowacki was allowed to come out for the third and caught Briedis with a hard shot. But obviously still hurt, Glowacki was put down hard again and waved off.
An unbelievable turn of events which will surely see a protest from Glowacki, who lost his WBO title.
In a twist, Byrd’s performance will be scrutinized after wife Adalaide was named a judge for the bout.
Byrd was involved in one of the worst scoring decision in recent years at Gennadiy Golovkin v Canelo I.
