Former cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis is apparently mulling a move up to the heavyweight ranks.

The Latvian native has been busy courting the YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul for the past couple of years, often to comical and somewhat embarrassing effect, but his efforts have been unfruitful, and it seems unlikely, moreover, that Paul would ever take on a seasoned veteran like Briedis, who has been one of the elite fighters at cruiserweight for years, anytime soon.

Briedis hasn’t given up on the prospect of taking on the bankable cruiserweight novitiate but if it turns out that that avenue is truly a dead end for him, he says he would like nothing more than to pivot to a fight with longtime heavyweight contender Derek Chisora.

Briedis said he has already spoken with the fan-friendly trialhorse, and that they had a receptive conversation.

“I spoke with Derek Chisora,” Briedis told iFL TV in London during a press conference for KSI vs. FaZe Temperrr. “I asked him, ‘Let’s go, let’s make challenge. Let’s make fight tomorrow,’ because I’m not ready; he’s not ready. I’m in preparation, and we’ll see what’s happening. Six rounds, eight rounds. He said yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ll see.

Asked to convey his seriousness in fighting Chisora, Briedis offered an affirmative answer.

“Why not?” Briedis said. “He’s here. I don’t need to scream at somebody. I come, I ask. I have a video. I can send you.

“He said yes, I’m ready. This is my offer for him, he said yes, we shake the hands and we will see who is [just talking].”

Briedis surprisingly lost his IBF cruiserweight title last summer to Australia’s Jai Opetaia by unanimous decision.  

Chisora has seen far better days as far as his boxing career goes. He is coming off a brutal 10th-round stoppage loss to WBC titlist Tyson Fury in December. In the summer, he was engaged in a back-and-forth battle with Kubrat Pulev that he eventually won via split decision.

Chisora, who routinely weighs in closer to the 260-pound mark, would have a decided size advantage over Briedis in a potential fight.

Furthermore, boxing politics would not likely prevent Briedis from taking on Chisora, since Briedis is backed by Wasserman Boxing's Kalle Sauerland, who is a close associate of Matchroom's Eddie Hearn, who has often promoted Chisora. (Hearn was not involved in Chisora's last fight with Fury.)