Bullish Briggs plans quick finish
Shannon Briggs has vowed to make Vitali Klitschko his 32nd first-round victim when they meet for the Ukranian's WBC heavyweight crown on 16 October.The 39-year-old Klitschko, however, said only he could beat himself when the fight takes place in Hamburg.
"The only man who can defeat Vitali Klitschko is Vitali Klitschko," said the two-time champion, for whom Briggs is the fourth-choice opponent.
"It will be an amazing, exciting fight, full of drama."
Britain's WBA champion David Haye was in line to fight Klitschko but negotiations came to nothing, while Russian pair Nikolay Valuev and Alexander Povetkin also refused the bout.
But Klitschko said former WBO champion Briggs, 38, was a worthy challenger having won 51 of his 58 fights since turning pro in 1992.
Should the Klitschko brothers fight David Haye? Briggs won the WBO title with a 12th-round knockout of Sergei Liakhovich in November 2006 but lost the title in his first defence against Sultan Ibragimov eight months later.
Briggs considered retirement in the wake of the defeat to Ibragimov, saying he entered a "diet of cookies, doughnuts and fried chicken" that saw him balloon to 335lbs.
It was Klitschko, he said, who inspired his return after the two met in a Los Angeles restaurant.
Briggs said: "I was fat and he touched my stomach. And in that moment right there I decided to come back. He should have left me alone."
Klitschko, who has 40 wins from 42 fights, said: "Briggs has great experience, has fought significantly more fights than I have and is one of the hardest punchers in the division."
For the Ukrainian it will be the fifth defence of his title since beating Samuel Peter in October 2008 to regain the WBC crown, having temporarily retired in 2004.
The champion's most recent win was over Poland's Albert Sosnowski in May 2010, while New Yorker Briggs's most recent bout was a victory over Rob Calloway in May.
Klitschko's brother Wladimir will defend his IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles against Nigeria's Peter in Frankfurt on 11 September. Haye could defend his title against fellow Brit Audley Harrison in the autumn.
Date published :
30 Aug 2010 - 15:00:23
