Former IBF cruiserweight world champion Mairis Briedis (28-1, 20 KOs) said that he had never been in the ranks of the Latvian martial arts team TM Fighting Team, which “expelled” him the day before because of his political views. July 11 at
Facebook team was published: “Due to the unacceptable position for us regarding the invasion of the occupiers in Ukraine, Mairis Briedis was excluded from the ranks of the TM Fighting Team. As a patriotic organization, we want to distance ourselves from people who support Russian aggression.”
At the same time, they added that “there is no place for such people in a team whose basic principles are patriotism and loyalty to their country,” although the latter is unclear – where is Ukraine and where is Latvia.
“Thank you for expelling me from an organization of which I have never been a member. Once again, the media did not check the information and let it out to the people, –
wrote Briedis. “Looking at the fact that 90% of lies have been written about me, I can only imagine how many lies the media is feeding the people on all other issues! Every time I read about this or that person, I wonder how much truth is there.
Briedis wants revenge with Opetaya: video
Meanwhile, Mairis, as before, sidestepped the topic that caused the whole scandal: again, he did not say anything about Russia’s ongoing attempt to destroy the Ukrainian state and people.
On February 28, the fifth day of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine, Briedis wrote a post in
Instagramwhere he was asked to speak on the topic. The meaning can be briefly condensed into “I am for peace” without a clear condemnation of Russia’s aggressive war. Mairis wrote that “I am categorically against war and casualties on any side”, “I am not one of those who will stand on one side and choose who will die and who will live”, “I will never support any war”, “in our there is no place for provocations and wars in the world.”
Not a single Latvian TV channel showed the last fight of Briedis against Jai Opetai: the media distanced themselves from the boxer, who did not condemn the war of conquest. Delayed overthrow Here is our report on the fight.
It is worth recalling that until February 24, the same vague position about the 8-year war against Ukraine was occupied not only by foreigners, but also by the vast majority of Ukrainian boxers.
In order not to miss the most interesting news from the world of boxing and MMA, subscribe to us at
Facebook and
Google News.