SHANNON “THE CANNON’’ BRIGGS

WBO No. 3/IBF No. 7/WBC No. 8/WBA No. 10 Heavyweight Contender

Born on Dec. 4, 1971, in Brooklyn, New York

Height: 6’ 4” – Heavyweight (266)

Record: 47-4-1, 41 KOs

It only seems like hard-hitting Shannon Briggs—bleached-gold dreadlocks and all—has been around forever.

“It’s funny,” he said, “because when everyone thinks of me, they think I am very, very old because I fought George Foreman and Lennox Lewis and other guys at a young age. When I tell them my age, they’re like, ‘Naw, you can’t be.’ ”

For the record, Briggs is just 34 and has won 11 consecutive fights, all by knockout. A dangerous threat to any boxer in the heavyweight division, he is ranked in the top 10 of the four major organizations. Twenty-seven of Briggs’ 41 career knockout victories came in the first round.

“A lot of guys in my division are in their prime at 34,” said Briggs, who has always been armed with enormous talent and devastating two-fisted power. “Me? They think I am some sort of ancient warrior. But I feel I am just hitting my prime. I have plenty of fight left in me. I feel invigorated.’’

To reinforce his point, he has incorporated a seek ’n destroy mindset during a winning streak that began in March 2003. The days of Briggs feeling out a foe or pacing himself are over.

“The people want to see blood. They want action,” Briggs said of his newfound method of operating. “I hate to sound barbaric because I am not barbaric outside the ring, but this is a job. I do it for money to feed my family. The customers are getting what they want.’’

A heavy hitter has also become heavy. Briggs weighed 266 pounds when he scored a third-round TKO over Chris Koval in his last start on May 24, 2006, in New York. Briggs was 269 when he knocked out Dick Ryan in the third round the previous March 18 in Fort Smith, Ark. Scales have been banned in his home. He won’t step on one at the gym.

“I hate scales,” Briggs said. “I don't weigh myself anymore. I'm simply trying to perfect the art of the one-punch KO.’’

Briggs doesn't worry that the additional poundage will put him at a disadvantage when he challenges World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight champion Sergei “White Wolf” Liakhovich.

“I've never been touted as having great stamina,’’ Briggs said. “Sergei will get tired too. I'm training hard, but I am training for a knockout.

"This is a great fight. Sergei and I are like two dinosaurs. Whoever gets tired first or gets caught first will be in big trouble.”

Briggs has had his share of memorable fights during his career. In two of his most unforgettable performances, he retired George Foreman by out-pointing him to claim the linear heavyweight title (Foreman never fought again), and Briggs almost knocked out Lennox Lewis.

But, Briggs said, “I am proud of every fight. I am proud just to be boxing. I was born an asthmatic (which may have affected him in losses earlier in his career). I was a real sick child. I never thought I would ever be in a sport, let alone be champion and be recognized and known.

“So from my first fight to my last it has been like a blessing to me. Sometimes I pinch myself and say, man, ‘I am Shannon Briggs.’ I was homeless at one time. I slept on friend's couches and on trains. I look back and see how far I came.’’

For all his special moments inside the ring, Briggs has had his share of strife outside it. He had managerial woes, nasty splits with trainers, lost fights he should have won easily, lost his will to compete and split his energies chasing an acting career and fighting for a world title.

“My career has had ups and downs,’’ he said. “I had a nice climb to the top. It was fun. It was something that was never really expected of me—to be a boxer and get as far as I got. I'm 34. I don't know if this is my last run. I don't think of it as my first or last run. I'm just running."

That Briggs still is running is a credit to his perseverance. His mother was a nurse, but had a weakness for illicit distractions. She'd go out on runs and leave young Shannon behind in their apartment. He never knew his dad. His stepfather died in jail.

Briggs moved in with an aunt in the same tough Brownsville neighborhood in Brooklyn that nurtured former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe.

“Tyson and Bowe, we all lived within a mile or two radius of each other,” Briggs said. “I was an only child, but I was pretty much like a homeless kid. My mom became sick and she had a drug problem. I was, kind of like, in the streets. I would stay with relatives sometimes, friends, sometimes a train station. I’d go from place to place, but I always made a way. I’m a survivor.’’

Despite the environment, Briggs avoided major trouble enough to take a shot at the 1992 Olympic Games. A hand injury ended the dream, but he was able to reunite with his mom and put up money for her rehabilitation.

Briggs went to a boxing gym the first time in his mid-teens.

“We used to slap fight a lot in the street,” he said. “One day, a friend of mine’s dad purchased some boxing gloves for us. He said, ‘why don’t you guys put on the gloves instead of beating each other up?’

“My friends always said I should go to the gym. So I took the bus there one afternoon. First time I sparred, I got beat up. I thought I would never go back again. But I fell in love. It was like a disease. Once I got it, I couldn’t get rid of it. I always found myself on that bus going back. I had talent. I would go to the gym to just hang around. I would sweep up sometimes. I was cleaning up and hanging around, so I was able to watch. Sometimes I would sleep in the gym.

“Boxing saved my life. It got me off the street. It gave me a place to go. It wasn’t my own home, but it was a safe place and a place where I found some type of structure. I was around people and not just running the streets getting myself in trouble. Tough times came about, too, but I was fortunate.’’

Briggs began boxing as an amateur at 18. “I didn’t have a lot of fights, he said, “but I had been in the gym for a while and was a boxing fan. I studied boxing. I was a huge fan of the guys in the 1980s like Matthew Saad Muhammad and Dwight Qawi.

“I was also a really big Muhammad Ali fan. I would mimic him; try to do everything he did, like talk like him. For a long time, people called me Ali. Nobody even knew my name. I guess Shannon is an unfamiliar name, especially in the ghetto.

“At the time, I was on the USA Team and that helped a lot. I traveled, stayed in different hotels. At one point as an amateur, I was picked up by Lou Duva and Shelly Finkel when I didn’t have a place to stay. I stayed with them in Virginia Beach for quite a while. I learned a lot.’’

Possessing a brutal left jab and thumping left hook, the 1992 U.S. National amateur champion at 201 pounds turned professional at age 20 on July 24, 1992. He won his first 25 fights, 20 by knockout, 18 inside of three rounds, and didn’t lose a single round.

Briggs suffered his first loss when he was stopped in the third round by New Jersey prospect Darroll Wilson (15-0-2) on March 15, 1996, in Atlantic City. Briggs started aggressively and won the initial two sessions, but was cut over his left eye. Wilson scored a spectacular one-punch knockdown with a left hook in the third and Briggs was counted out at 2:17.

Armed with a new sense of purpose, Briggs rebounded to win his next four starts by knockout to get his shot at the legendary Foreman Nov. 22, 1997, in Atlantic City. In his greatest sports moment, Briggs won the linear heavyweight championship with a controversial 12-round majority decision. Foreman came forward and landed the hardest punches, but Briggs maintained a fast pace, boxed effectively and landed nearly 50 more power shots to win by the scores of 117-113, 116-112 and 114-114. Foreman announced his retirement following the bout.

“It was a great experience for me especially since I was just a young kid,” Briggs said. “I was brought in to be knocked out. But I didn’t play my part. It was a very, very close decision.

“I felt unbelievable, but I could not really enjoy it. The media ripped me apart, writing the fight was fixed. My best moment became my worst moment, so it was a bittersweet type thing.

“Some say George won, some say I won. (But) it was a great fight and a great financial opportunity that I took advantage of. I got the decision and became linear champ of the world. It put me on the stage in front of the world; it earned me the right to fight Lennox Lewis next.’’

On March 28, 1998, Briggs met Lewis in Atlantic City and nearly won the World Boxing Council (WBC) title in dramatic fashion. In the bout’s opening seconds, he staggered Lewis with a right hand that nearly knocked him through the ropes. Briggs punched himself out as Lewis survived the round, and the defending champion wound up winning by fifth-round knockout.

Briggs scored a first-round TKO in his next start, but then boxed a 10-round draw with Frans Botha (39-2 going in) Aug. 7, 1999, in Atlantic City. It was a close, hard fight and both fighters were hurt, cut and battered. Briggs decked Botha in the eighth, but Botha rallied in the last two rounds. At the end, one judge had it 95-92 for Botha while the other scorers had it 94-94.

Many think Briggs was fortunate to escape without a loss.

“I did everything right for the Botha fight but had a bad chain of events happen. I tore my left bicep before the fight. I had an ulcer the size of a dime in my stomach. I trained in Big Bear (Calif.) thinking the altitude would be good, but it was terrible. I couldn't run. It was too cold. After the second round, I was gasping for air. Botha broke my rib. Cauliflower ears, stitches over both eyes yet I hung in for 10 rounds. I was fortunate to get a draw. Physically, he really gave me a beating. And mentally I was down on myself because the fight was so hard and grueling.’’

Briggs was victorious in his next outing but then lost a shocking eight-round decision to Sedreck Fields (9-9) on April 27, 2000, in New York. Briggs started well and landed the harder punches, but Fields outworked him in the late rounds. “Although I thought I won, losing to Fields was very embarrassing,” said Briggs, who came up short by the upset scores of 77-75 twice and 76-76. “He had such a bad record. I came in just to knock out an opponent and make a payday.’’

Briggs won his next four starts by first-round knockout before losing a lopsided decision to the always dangerous and talented Jameel McCline on April 27, 2002, in New York. McCline consistently outworked Briggs, scored a knockdown in the fifth and triumphed by the scores of 99-90 on all three scorecards.

“I had a back injury but went through with the fight anyway,” said Briggs, who weighed a then-career-high 268 pounds. “I fought at maybe 30 percent.’’

The kind of people qualities Briggs most admires include “people that can come back,’’ he said. “Are you real? Can you shake off the dust. The art of the comeback -- that's what I'm into. OK, he's not a one-hit wonder. Can he come back? That's what my drive is right now. So, you think you know me. But let me show you who I really am. Re-invent myself and come back again. And you're going be, like, ‘oh, yeah, I remember him. He's real. You know what I mean?"

Looking back, Briggs said, “my whole career's been funny to me. It’s been a great ride. I wouldn't change anything. Not a win, not a loss. I'm where I'm at today because of it. I have what I have today because of what I’ve gone through. If I would have knocked out Lennox Lewis in that first or second round, I might not be here now. I night have been blown away in ashes.

“I would have been partying and celebrating and all that type stuff. I was young. I wasn't ready for it. Look at Mike Tyson. 20-years-old, heavyweight champion of he world. Where's he now? Imagine being 20-years-old and having $100 million? I can't even imagine it. I like to think, where I am right now, I could control myself.

“I turned pro at 20. It's been 14 years. Sure. Foreman and Lewis tried to destroy me, but I've never been seriously hurt. I've only been knocked out twice in 52 fights. I’m making money. I'm having fun and enjoying my career. I got to meet all types of people. I came into boxing as a fan from the outside, watching Ali and Larry Holmes. Then, I actually got to meet and shake their hands and see that they're real people. Before, I thought they were like comic book heroes. In the ring with a Foreman. – I was like, ‘this can't he happening.’ My dad watched him. I watched him. I read everything you could read about him.

“I feel like I’m inside a comic book now. So this whole thing is fun. I'm still having fun.’’

When he is not having fun with his boxing career, Briggs also competes in K-1 (mixed martial arts), has done some modeling and had roles in three movies. His childhood heroes were Ali and Holmes. He always admired Tyson, and always wanted to fight him, but it never happened.

Against Brewster, Liakhovich took a knee but still managed a clear unanimous-decision win. Considering that you are a knockout specialist and hardly ever go beyond 5 rounds, are you concerned that he might become a problem as the fight goes on?

“No, but it’s something that I’m working on and that’s why I’m training at altitude in Colorado Springs, Colo. I don’t see it as a problem, but it is just going to take some work on my part to improve my endurance and stamina, and I’m looking for a grueling fight. If I get a knockout, which I’m going for in the first round, then great, but I will be trying to knock him out from round one to twelve, without saying. After his knockout loss to Maurice Harris, he took some time off and fought his way back. Now he’s a better fighter and I know that I have a tough fight on my hands…a grueling tough fight, and I think that this fight will be fight of the year.”

So, you don’t think that the Wladimir Klitschko offer for Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden was ever serious, do you?

“They used me because I’m a New York City guy, and I promote very well. I’m the type of a fighter that if you’re my promoter and say: “Shannon, I’m putting you on my card,” I’m going to promote the card. I have five thousand people on my email list and I keep in touch with my fans. My number is on the Internet, man, and is open for everyone to call me. I’m out there. I’m in the public. I’m on the train. I’m on the bus. I walk Times Square. I’m a public person, and they used me. They went to the Garden and told them that they had me in the contract just to get the date just to screw Don King, and then they don’t end up using me, and replace me with Calvin Brock. They were first trying to get Maskaev, Sultan Ibragimov, and everyone else but Shannon Briggs because they knew that I was going to knock him out.”

Not too many people know about the fact that you participated in mixed martial arts. What did you think of it?

“It was OK, but if you go to youtube.com, it’s there and you can see the vicious knockout. I tell you man. I’m not a bad guy. I’m a little upset because I’m 34 years old and I’m always trying to be polite to the public and be a people person, but it’s the politics of the game that have hurt me over the years. I just realized that. You become a Mike Tyson. You have no other choice. Like I told you, I was forced to go to the dark side. You know, I was trying to fight for good, but then, all of a sudden, I’m the bad guy. I was treated like @$#@# and all I can do now is fight nasty and be the bad guy that they wanted me to be.

Tell us about the fight with George Foreman.

In the Foreman fight…it was a great fight, and many people thought that he had won. Many people thought that I had won. I had nothing to do with it. I’m not the judges. I’m happy that I got the decision. Had they given that fight to Foreman, I wouldn’t have argued with them. It was that close of fight. I thought that I boxed very well. You want to talk about Foreman fights…how about talking about his bouts with Alex Stewart and the one where he fought Lou Savarese. I thought that he lost that fight. What about Axel Schulz? I thought that he lost that fight. They didn’t give the decision to those guys. With me, it was a close one that I was lucky and fortunate enough to get, and guess what? it’s a black eye for the sport and everyone wants to kill Shannon Briggs. The fact is that I’m a very talkative guy. I’m not one of these punchy fighters that can’t speak well and I hustle hard for mine. I get out there and make it happen. I came into this game with only 30 amateur fights, but you would have thought that I was an Olympic star. You hear people talk on HBO that Rahman had very little amateur experience, but he had more amateur fights then me, but they made a big deal out of it when he fought Maskaev.

10-1-2006       

 

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