World Boxing Super Series to feature ALL four reigning cruiserweight champions as WBO titlist Usyk signs up for Muhammad Ali Trophy

(Foro: Suministrada)

The World Boxing Super Series is delighted to announce that the inaugural season of the Muhammad Ali Trophy will feature ALL four reigning cruiserweight champions. WBO titlist & Olympic gold medal winner Oleksandr Usyk (12-0, 10 KOs) has officially joined the revolutionary bracket-style elimination tournament that already features unbeaten champions Yunier Dorticos (WBA), Mairis Briedis (WBC) and Murat Gassiev (IBF) as well as former champions Marco Huck and Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, with two more spots to be filled. On July 8, all participants will come face-to-face at the Draft Gala in Monaco where they will hand-pick their quarter-final opponents.

Usyk is thrilled to be fighting for The Greatest Prize in Boxing, the Muhammad Ali Trophy. “I feel happy and inspired with the idea of such a tournament,” he stated. ”I’ve been dreaming of putting together all the champs to see who is the strongest and becomes the undisputed king of the division. I look forward to gaining three more world championship belts to my collection as well as the Greatest’s Muhammad Ali Trophy!”

Roberto Dalmiglio, Comosa´s Head of Management Board, said the stakes could not be any higher. “This is a historic moment,” he stated. “Nobody has ever assembled as many top fighters as the World Boxing Super Series and put them in an elimination tournament to determine the undisputed number one. Whoever emerges from a competition that features the four reigning champions, two former champions as well as two rising challengers to be announced shortly will be universally recognized as the greatest cruiserweight out there.”

Richard Schafer, Comosa´s Chairman of the Americas, has lauded the fighters` for accepting the ultimate challenge. “It takes a lot of heart to sign up for the Muhammad Ali Trophy because the level of competition is beyond everything the world has ever seen,” he said. “Eight stars will put it all on the line – their belts, their unbeaten records and their reputation – knowing that only one of them can win. With four belts and the Muhammad Ali Trophy at stake, the World Boxing Super Series is as good as it gets for fighters and fans around the world.”

Kalle Sauerland, Comosa´s Chief Boxing Officer, can´t wait for the tournament bracket to be unveiled during the Draft Gala. In an innovative process, the four top-seeds (to be determined by Comosa) will hand-pick their opponents from the four unseeded boxers. “This has never been done before and there could not be a more exciting way to kick off the World Boxing Super Series,” Sauerland said. “Just like the boxing fans all over the world, we are very curious to find out about the fighters’ picks. The stage is certainly set for an exciting tournament.”

In the World Boxing Super Series, 16 elite fighters – eight super-middleweights and eight cruiserweights – will battle it out in a bracket-style elimination tournament. In both divisions, there will be four quarter-finals (September / October 2017), two semi-finals (early 2018) and one final (May 2018), making for a total of 14 high-class fights.