WBC champ: Training has KP ‘on his way’

Kristaps Porzingis can take a punch.

Recovering in just one week from his right ankle bending sideways at 90 degrees was no surprise to Latvian boxing champion Mairis Briedis.

Briedis, the WBC cruiserweight champion, and Porzingis trained and boxed together for two weeks in July. Latvia’s two most famous athletes have remained in contact across the season.

In an interview via email, Briedis told The Post in his native tongue he knows all about Porzingis’ unicorn ways. Briedis, who is 23-0, said Porzingis could’ve been an elite boxer, too, if that was his focus.

“Kristaps is remarkably talented as an athlete,’’ Briedis wrote, according to a translation. “It’s not about basketball being his sport. He showed talent in boxing and other sports we tried together and was a very quick learner. Not everyone understands what’s asked from them and how it should be executed as fast as Kristaps does. If it wasn’t for basketball, he might have been successful in any other sport he would have chosen. He’s very coordinated and smart.”

Porzingis, 22, made his return to the court Wednesday against the Grizzlies and looked very limber in his 18-point, defensive-powered, rim-protecting effort. Briedis said the boxing training should help Porzin- gis all around this season.

“Boxing let him work on those muscle groups that are not used that much in basketball,’’ Briedis wrote in the email. “It was something different for him and it helped him to develop his body to be better prepared for the season.”

Durability has been a question for Porzingis because of his slender, 7-foot-3 frame, but Briedis believes his work ethic will overcome all.

“His determination to training are at the highest level,’’ Briedis wrote. “The work he did over the summer was done very professionally and he never looked for shortcuts. The tremendous amount of work he put in has to pay off and get him better and better from season to season. Right now he’s still on his way to reaching his heights.’’

Porzingis told The Post he’d love nothing more than head to overseas to watch Briedis’ belt unification bout against WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk on Jan. 27 in Riga, Latvia. But the Knicks are finishing up a western trip.

While Porzingis was embroiled in turmoil with Knicks management, he didn’t wear it on his sleeve.

“Kristaps didn’t talk about [skipping his exit-meeting with Phil Jackson],’’ Briedis said. “He did have a lot of great stories about New York and how he loves to live there and play at the Garden.”