With the World Boxing Super Series finals still more than a half year away, tournament officials have already announced the cruiserweight tournament finals' location.
Comosa AG CEO Roberto Dalmiglio said the cruiserweight finals will take place in Saudi Arabia sometime in May. The announcement came as part of an overall effort to increase boxing's presence in the country.
"This is fantastic news, not just for World Boxing Super Series but for boxing and for the sport in Saudi Arabia," Dalmiglio said. "We have seen huge and growing interest in the World Boxing Super Series from fight fans, broadcasters, commercial partners and venue owners from the major boxing markets around the world. The competition to host the cruiserweight final has been fierce, and we are delighted to be able to announce the winner. I am sure that Saudi Arabia will lay on a fitting finale to the first year of the WBSS and first award of the Muhammad Ali Trophy. We are proud to be working with the Saudi General Sports Authority on what will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the 2018 sporting calendar in Jeddah."
The tournament has been a massive global event for boxing fans. The first round matches, which are still going, have taken place in countries such as Germany, England, United States and Latvia. The opening gala, where all eight first-round matches between the two tournaments were announced, took place in Monaco.
Three of the four spots in the cruiserweight semifinals have been filled. The three semifinalists, Oleksandr Usyk, Mairis Briedis, Yunier Dorticos, are world champions at 200 pounds and the fourth member will be the IBF cruiserweight champion. The final first-round match in the quarterfinals is the IBF cruiserweight title match between Murat Gassiev and Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, which takes place in Newark, New Jersey on October 21.
Fightful will provide live coverage of the entire card from the Prudential Center.
