Heavyweight Shannon Briggs is back. Love or hate him, you have to admit he has given
boxing fans some heavywweight thrills. After being away for over two years Shannon
Briggs is returning to the ring October 17th on a card that will also feature another
returning champ, Vassiliy Jirov.
Briggs' contract with Don King has finally run out so he's returning with manager Ivaylo Gotzev. He is fighting in the State where he won the WBO title by stopping Sergey Lyakhovich in Arizona in 2006. Interesting enough that Gotzev was in the opposite corner that night with Sergey Lyakhovich. Actually that was not the first time Briggs won a belt. In 1997 Shannon won claim to the linear heavyweight title when he won a close decision over George Foreman. He soon lost cliam to it as he was stopped by Lennox Lewis in a 1998 thriller.
Gotzev and Briggs share a common goal. To get Vitali Klitschko in the ring. Gotzev said, "When I was sitting ringside watching the mostly boring Vitali Klitschko-Cris Arreola match [last week], I had a vision."
Gotzev added, "I saw Shannon Briggs facing Vitali in a very exciting battle. And that's the goal we have in mind. We want to see how Vitali feels when he's looking at an opponent, eye to eye, who can punch harder and faster than he can."
Shannon is quick to point out that he is the last reigning American heavyweight champ. Shannon said, "I'm the last American-born heavyweight champion and I'm going to be the next," Briggs said. "You have to be able to hurt these guys. I'm the only one big enough, strong enough and experienced enough".
Gotzev wants to get him there, "I'm in the business of moving my guys and putting them back on top," he said. "I will hear from the haters and naysayers, but we are here to prove them wrong."
Gotzev said, "Now we can make some fights happen," Gotzev said. "We want Vitali. We're gonna prove ourselves. He's going to be fighting on a regular basis to prove himself."
Gotzev, who also manages former titlist Samuel Peter and Jirov, sounded awfully excited about hooking up with Briggs.
Briggs said the time off has helped him recharge. "When I lost the title in '07, I had walking pneumonia," Briggs said. "I wasn't prepared. It wasn't a smart move for me to defend the title in that condition. If you look at the heavyweight champions of the last few years, other champions have been allowed postponement after postponement. I was forced to fight with pneumonia. This time off was to recharge and heal from the pneumonia. I'm ready to rock and roll now."
So as I said love or hate him there is an old name back on the heavyweight scene. A heavyweight that could help change the thin and depleted heavyweight landscape.
An opponent has not been named for Briggs yet, but with him and Jirov sharing the card, it looks to be a great night of action.
Main event:
Vassiliy Jirov 37-3-1(31 KOs) vs. Dominique Alexander 18-7-1(9KOs) 10 rounds cruiserweights
Celebrity Theater, Phoenix, Arizona
October 17. 2009
By MITCHELL DEFER
