A Klitschko Showdown: Shannon Briggs’ Last Chance
By Geno McGahee
In the mid 1990s, there were several heavyweights on the way up. David Tua, Jeremy Williams, Andrew Golota, Larry Donald, Chris Byrd, Ike Ibeabuchi, Lou Savarese, were amongst the crop perceived to be the future of the heavyweight division, but none of them generated the buzz that an undefeated New Yorker by the name of Shannon Briggs did.
Briggs had the look of a champion and carried a big punch. He would be featured on HBO in 1996 against the lightly regarded Darroll Wilson. Briggs would be stopped in three rounds and the hype balloon was burst. When you examine the early career of Briggs, you see that he was a spoon-fed fighter early on and the Wilson fight may have been too much, too soon. On the surface, his 22-0, 19 KO’s, record was impressive and the highlight reel of Briggs sending his opponents crashing to the floor was impressive, but this was a collection of no-hopers with a combined record of 197 wins, 305 losses, and 21 draws. Wilson was a leap in competition and when he didn’t fall down early as the others have done, Briggs panicked and lost his first bout.
After four wins, Briggs would land a shot at Big George Foreman. Foreman saw Briggs as rather easy prey and after what Wilson did to him, imagine what a puncher like Foreman could do. Foreman, however, was beyond his better years and finding the mark wasn’t nearly as easy as it once was. Movement bothered him and Briggs employed movement to survive and would go on to win a controversial majority decision.
The big opportunity would arise in his next fight against WBC Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis in 1998. Briggs rattled Lewis in the opening round, nearly dropping him, but Lewis proved to be too much and would stop Briggs in five rounds. After this fight, Briggs would fade away, losing to Sedreck Fields and Jameel McCline.
In 2005, Briggs would begin to put his career back together, stringing together seven straight knockout wins, including one over former Champion, Ray Mercer, which led to a WBO Title shot against Sergei Liakhovich. Trailing on the cards, Briggs would land in the final round, sending the champion out of the ring with a barrage of punches and winning the title via TKO.
The demand began to grow for Briggs to take on Wladimir Klitschko, but it soon disappeared again when Sultan Ibragimov lifted the WBO crown by unanimous decision. Briggs looked slow and confused in the fight. The demand that began to brew fizzled and disappeared and, once again, Briggs was seen as a non-factor, but this is heavyweight boxing and in this state of mediocrity, there is always a chance for a guy like Briggs to make some noise and get a shot at one of the Klitschko brothers.
In 2010, Briggs has put together three straight first round knockout victories, one of which was over the journeyman, Rob Calloway. Calloway is a rather durable fighter with some skills. He won a decision over Terry Smith and went ten rounds with Jameel McCline, and had never been taken out in the first round. Briggs had no problem sending him to the floor numerous times en route to the first round victory. Now he is right back in line for a crack at one of the Klitschko brothers.
With the lack of marketable opponents for the champions, Briggs is an ideal opponent. He is an American challenger with a big punch and a lot of charisma, but at 38, does he stand a chance of winning a major title at this advanced age?
His recent run of first round knockouts is impressive, but it could be misleading. Former WBO Champ, Ray Mercer was on the comeback trail and put together some highlight reel stoppages from 1999 to 2002. He actually knocked two opponents clear out of the ring. Mercer, a likable and powerful fighter, was being talked about again and landed a bout with WBO Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir Klitschko in mid 2002. A left hook in the first round was a reality check for Mercer as he reached his feet and wobbled back to his corner. Mercer was no longer on this level.
For six rounds, Wlad kept peppering Mercer with jabs and began to open up with combinations, eventually stopped Merciless Ray in the sixth round. Those growing up with Mercer that ignored his advanced age going into that fight were rudely awakened. His time has come and gone.
At the age of 38, Briggs has many things going against him as he attempts to return to the top of the heavyweight division. He has had multiple issues with asthma. When a bout doesn’t end early, you can see Briggs slow down to a crawl, preserving what he has and making sure that he doesn’t lose to exhaustion. In one of his latest fights, he tested positive for an illegal substance. That headline alone could be enough for the Klitschkos to ignore him. Briggs is also not getting any younger and should IBO/IBF/WBO Champion Wladimir take on a guy like David Haye or Alexander Povetkin, while Vitali takes on Odlanier Solis or Nikolay Valuev, it could be 2011 or 2012 before Briggs is even considered for a shot. There haven’t been many 40 year old heavyweights to win the title.
It’s not all bad news for Briggs. If he should get a crack, he has that “puncher’s chance” that can never be overlooked. He would be a live underdog against either Klitschko, and would especially be a dangerous opponent for Wladimir. It would depend on which Briggs showed up as well. Briggs can be a destroyer as evident by his many early knockout wins, but he can also box from the outside, which would not be a good recipe for victory against Wlad or Vitali. He would have to blitz them and hope for the best.
Another option is WBA Champion, David Haye. Should Haye not come to terms with Wladimir over specifics for a unification bout, perhaps the optional defense against Briggs would be considered. Haye would be the favorite but Briggs, once again, would bring the big punch and would have a decent chance to take the title.
Shannon Briggs, 51-5-1, 45 KO’s, if he continues being active and winning, will eventually land a title shot and win or lose, he will bring some excitement to the title picture with his charisma and big punch. The odds are stacked against him but with the Klitschko’s hold of the division, there aren’t many fighters that enter the ring not being an underdog to take the title.