Shannon Briggs-Vitali Klitschko Live Round-by-Round Scoring

Shannon Briggs takes on Vitali Klitschko in Hamburg, Germany. Briggs (career overview), ranked #94 by SportsRatings, stands 6' 4" and weighed in at 262 pounds. #2 Klitschko stands 6' 7" and weighed 251 pounds yesterday.

The weigh-in photos show Klitschko appearing to be much more than three inches taller than Briggs; Klitschko is as much as a 12-1 favorite. Both fighters are nearing their forties, with Klitschko at 39 and Briggs 38.

In the one notable heavyweight undercard bout, the monstrous Alexander Ustinov (ranked #29 by SportsRatings) clubbed journeyman Ozcan Cetinkaya into submission in round two. After five sloppy "knockdowns", three in the first and two in the second, the ref had seen enough as even when he covered up, Cetinkaya didn't seem able to defend himself effectively from Ustinov's assaults.

The main event has begun; here is the summary and scoring as we judge it. After four rounds the judges' scores will be announced.

• Round One: Klitschko starts with a quick flurry, holding fort in center ring. Briggs trying to paw his way in. Klitschko managing distance well. Briggs ducking and Klitschko coming over the top to hit the side of Briggs' head twice. Both fighters with low guards, especially Klitschko. Briggs going to body, can't do much else. One shot at end by Briggs, but Klitschko's round. Klitschko 10-9
• Round Two: Lefts from Klitschko, Briggs trying to move in. Briggs counters well, gets in a left. Klitschko moving forward with jabs, stuns Briggs with a left. Much more active round from both fighters. Strong left over the top from Vitali. Combo from Klitschko, Briggs going to body ineffectively. Briggs able to reach Klitschko but not with much power. Good exchange near the end. Klitschko 20-18
• Round Three: Lots of pawing from both in the first half minute; juking around. Klitschko connects with good combo and Briggs returns a good left. Briggs dancing a bit, ducking a lot as a defense. Both fighters a bit slower this round. Briggs looks a bit lost late in the round, not doing what his corner is yelling. Klitschko did more in an uneventful round. Klitschko 30-27
• Round Four: Briggs throws his best punch right from the opening bell, gets in some body work in the clinch too. Vitali responds with some body shots and peppering jabs. Briggs gets 4 rib shots in as Vitali ties up. Klitschko two good head shots. Even round with a minute left. Klitschko staying just out of range. Klitschko going over the top again, finishes strong. Even round. Klitschko 40-37. All three judges have it 40-36 for Klitschko.
• Round Five: Klitschko controlling the distance as Briggs not doing much. Klitschko hurts Briggs with strong rights as Briggs looks tired. Briggs stumbling, taking right hands. Briggs tries a wild shot but gets hammered for it. Dominant round from Klitschko. Klitschko 50-46
• Round Six: Briggs' corner tries to get him re-motivated. Klitschko picking up where he left off last round. Peppering away at Briggs, who keeps on coming but isn't doing much. String right hands from Klitschko with a minute left, grinding away at Briggs and wearing him down. Powerful right from Klitschko with seconds left. Klitschko 60-55
• Round Seven: Briggs is just surviving now, with no chance of a decision win, and only a prayer of a lucky shot. Briggs keeps pawing the left hand out with no real pop on the jab, just trying to keep his opponent away. Klitschko with another 1-2 left-right punching down on Briggs' cheek. Body shots by Briggs, who misses a huge haymaker; Klitschko gets some big shots in and Briggs is looking weak. Vitali is going for the kill, but in a measured way as usual. Still scoring with rights and lefts. Briggs is dog tired and just tries to hold on for the last 30 seconds. Klitschko rocks Briggs at the end and almost knocks him down, one blow from Klitschko was late; Briggs didn't go down. Still it was a 10-8 round for Klitschko. Klitschko 70-63
• Round Eight: Can Briggs survive is the only question for this round. Klitschko starts pummeling Briggs again, Briggs is still attempting to box. Still getting hit in the face. Round is just as one-sided as the last one; Briggs is taking some huge shots and is amazingly still standing, still confronting Klitschko with a minute left. Klitschko not going to get the KO this round. Klitschko 80-72
• Round Nine: Briggs a little more active this round, but so is Vitali. Both rested a bit last round. Briggs still taking punishment without falling for the first half of the round. Briggs' jab attempts are more half-hearted than ever. Action is stopped to warn Briggs' corner about swearing. Briggs arms are tiring as Vitali continues to grind away, but without the knockout result he wants. Briggs is wobbled with 20 second left, but he survives again. Klitschko 90-81
• Round Ten: Briggs is in Kevin Johnson mode now, just trying to go the distance it seems. But he's at least standing with him, and has enough presence of mind to avoid a big Klitschko hook. But Klitschko presses and hammers away with several big combinations midway through the round. Briggs is stumbling around the ring getting hit in the face. Still standing with a minute left, though. His defenses are down and he's nearly out on his feet as Klitschko continues to hammer. 30 seconds left. Klitschko a bit tired from the activity. Klitschko 100-90
• Round Eleven: For weighing 262 and having athsma Briggs stamina is astounding, but questions about stopping the fight are inevitable. Crowd wants a knockout, of course. Klitschko grinding away again on Briggs' reddened face. Vitali sees no danger from Briggs, only getting tired himself can hurt him. Briggs left arm is straight down now most of the time in between flurries from Klitschko. Another round where both fighters are resting a bit for the first two minutes. Briggs is hit by a right and shakes his head "no" as if to say he won't go down. Klitschko 110-99
• Round Twelve: Briggs last chance is to pull off a shocking round 12 win like he did against Liakhovich, but he's in no condition to do so and Klitschko is strong. Klitschko is looking for the knockout, too. Briggs seems determined to survive however. Briggs isn't running from him to his credit, and continues to take punishment from overhand rights, three in a row at mid-round. A huge right throws spit from Briggs' mouth but he stands. Taking monster shots, looking weak but standing. 45 seconds left. 30 seconds. Briggs connects with his first right for a long time as Vitali comes in. Vitali hammers away but Briggs will not fall. Klitschko 120-108

The fight grew more one-sided as it progressed, as is normal for either Klitschkos' fights lately. But what was most amazing was Briggs determination to go the distance. His effort was far more impressive that Kevin Johnson's, who didn't ever mount any offense or try to go toe-to-toe with Vitali.

 

Comments

[Witold]

good summary that is just as i saw it, briggs held on with no hope but held on.