Tonight, October 16, 2010, Shannon Briggs gets what will almost undoubtedly be his last shot at the heavyweight title when he takes on WBC king Vitali Klitschko in Germany. In Briggs' long career he's held titles twice, including the Lineal Heavyweight title, and he holds the record for most first-round knockouts by a heavyweight with 30. Like many boxers his career has had its ups and downs; he peaked early in terms of accomplishments but has soldiered on and, from time to time, has become a factor in the division. Here's an overview of his career and where he placed in the SportsRatings Heavyweight Top 100 during that time.
Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs had a decent amateur career that included a Golden Gloves championship and a 2nd place finish in the Pan American games to the great Felix Savon. He started his pro career in 1992 and by February, 1994 he was 16-0 with 10 first-round stoppages.
Early fights
Date Result Opponent Briggs new rank
03/1994: Win by KO over #145 JIMMY ELLIS #58
01/1995: Win by UD over #136 CRAIG PAYNE #51
03/1995: Win by W over #212 MARION WILSON #48
08/1995: Win by KO over #109 WILL HINTON #27
03/1996: LOSS by KO to #37 DARROLL WILSON #91
His first showing in the SportsRatings Boxing Top 100 comes in March of that year as he beat the "other" Jimmy Ellis in a 1st round TKO. He decisioned Craig Payne and Marion Wilson to put himself in the top 50, and another Round One TKO over Will Hinton put Briggs on the cusp of the top 25. A few fights later he was 25-0 but when he met 15-0-2 Darroll Wilson he suffered his first loss, a third-round TKO in which he punched himself out early. This would become a common theme later, and one of several losses he would blame on his asthma.
Comeback, and opportunity of a lifetime
Date Result Opponent Briggs new rank
04/1997: Win by KO over #274 MELTON BOWEN #96
06/1997: Win by KO over #136 JORGE VALDEZ #86
11/1997: Win by MD over #4 GEORGE FOREMAN #4
Wins over Melton Bowen and Jorge Valdez, both TKOs, were part of four fights he won to remain in the Top 100 before getting his big break. Briggs' next two fights were by far the biggest of his career, the first against all-time great George Foreman.
Briggs beat Foreman in a controversial decision giving him the Lineal and Ring Magazine titles and propping him into the Top 5 in our rankings. Briggs was 25 years old.
Rough patch after capturing the title
Date Result Opponent Briggs new rank
03/1998: LOSS by KO to #3 LENNOX LEWIS #14
08/1999: draw by D to #149 FRANS BOTHA #23
02/2000: Win by KO over #38 WARREN WILLIAMS #20
04/2000: LOSS by SD to #NR SEDRICK FIELDS #51
Four months later Briggs lost to Lennox Lewis in a 5th round KO—according to Briggs, another asthma attack. He beat journeyman Marcus Rhode but it was over a year before he faced another significant opponent and he drew with Francois Botha which dropped him out of the top 20. He recovered with a win over Warren Williams—his 2nd best achievement at the time—but then suffered his worst loss at the hands of unranked Sedreck Fields, who didn't have a winning record before the bout. Briggs fell out of the top 50 for the first time in three years.
Another comeback, another setback
Date Result Opponent Briggs new rank
11/2000: Win by KO over #358 ERIC CURRY #52
04/2001: Win by KO over #156 RUSSELL CHASTEEN #42
10/2001: Win by KO over #197 JASON WALLER #36
04/2002: LOSS by UD to #8 JAMEEL MCCLINE #104
Briggs made another measured comeback, beating barely-ranked Eric Curry, then Russell Chasteen and Jason Waller (and for good measure, unranked Reynaldo Minus) all in first-round knockouts. This put him at 36-3-1 and ready to face top-ten-ranked Jameel McCline, who proceeded to thoroughly outbox Briggs and won an easy decision. After 8 years of being in the SportsRatings Top 100 Heavyweights Briggs was out.
Comeback #3 and WBO heavyweight title fights
Date Result Opponent Briggs new rank
07/2003: Win by KO over #393 JOHN SARGENT #120
03/2005: Win by KO over #122 DEMETRICE KING #102
06/2005: Win by KO over #103 ABRAHAM OKINE #58
08/2005: Win by KO over #251 RAY MERCER #57
11/2005: Win by KO over #391 BRIAN SCOTT #55
11/2006: Win by KO over #7 SERGEI LYAKHOVICH #9
06/2007: LOSS by UD to #28 SULTAN IBRAGIMOV #28
Briggs took time off from serious bouts after the McCline loss, with marginal journeyman John Sargent being his first semi-live opponent followed by Demetrice King nearly two years later. Beating Abraham Okine put him back in the top 100 and washed up Ray Mercer and Brian Scott kept him busy. In all Briggs won 12 straight fights after the McCline loss, all by stoppage and five of them in the first round, making his record 47-4-1 before his showdown with Sergei Lyakhovich.
Lyakhovich was ranked in the top ten and owned the WBO heavyweight belt. He was clearly winning the fight until the very last seconds of the contest, as he fell out of the ring with one second to go in one of the most bizarre finishes ever in boxing. Briggs had his first significant belt, but it didn't last long. Sultan Ibragimov came in 20-0-1 and won a unanimous decision over Briggs. Briggs retired after the bout ballooned up to well over 300 pounds.
One final comeback
Date Result Opponent Briggs new rank
05/2010: Win by TKO over #288 ROB CALLOWAY #97
09/2010: #94
Briggs retirement lasted over two years, but he kept talking during the layoff even as he slid down the charts. Late in 2009 he came back with a string of four more 1-round knockouts: first to unrated Marcus McGee (which became a No Contest after Briggs tested positive for steroids that he says were linked to his asthma medication). Briggs faced two more unranked fighters before defeating Rob Calloway which stopped his downward momentum in the rankings and was enough to sign him for a bout against Vitali Klitchko.
Currently Briggs is at #94 with a 51-5-1 record. He's reportedly under 250 lbs. for the first time since 2001 and says he has his asthma under control. He's said that before, of course, but the weight is a good sign if true. At 38, Briggs probably won't get another serious title shot.
Update: At weigh-in, Briggs weighed 262 pounds.
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