Filed under: WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, Boxing Rumors, FanHouse Exclusive, IBO
Shannon Briggs was the last American to wear a version of the heavyweight belt, with the Brooklyn, N.Y., native earning the WBO crown via 12th-round knockout over Sergey Lyakhovich in November of 2006 before being dethroned in June of 2007 by Sultan Ibragimov via 12-round, unanimous decision.
John Ruiz held the WBA crown in 2005, and, in 2006, Hasim Rahman and Chris Byrd, respectively, were champions with the WBC, and, IBF.
The 38-year-old, 6-foot-4 Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KOs), nicknamed, "The Cannon," weighed 266 pounds for his last fight, May's third consecutive first-round knockout in as many straight wins over Rob Calloway. Briggs gets another title shot on Oct. 16 opposite 39-year-old, nearly 6-8 WBC king Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 knockouts).
Briggs has stopped a remarkable 30 opponents in the first round, including the first four of his career, and, 10 of his first 12 rivals. In April, he scored a 28-second stoppage of Rafael Pedro, the only punch of the fight being a right hand to the head.
Briggs' most notable career win was against George Foreman by disputed majority decisio in November of 1997, after which he was dropped three times during a March of 1998 fifth-round knockout loss to Lennox Lewis in his bid to earn the WBC title. Briggs shed light on his opportunity against Klitschko, what it takes to be a fighter who has asthma, as well as some of his lifetime struggles and adversity, in this Q&A:
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