Okay so we know the Heavyweight division is garbage right now, especially the American Heavyweights, our best hope is supposedly Eddie Chambers, Chris Arreola and Kevin Johnson. What are the odds that an older more experienced fighter such as Shannon Briggs coming back and making some noise? im not saying he's gonna come in and start KO'ing the Klitschko's but he is on the comeback trail and has won his last 3 fights by 1st round KO and has another fight on June 15 (this is according to him and its not listed on boxrec yet) This would be his 3rd fight in less than a month, so whats everyones honest opinion.
?2010-06-01T16:53:31Z
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I think Shannon Briggs is a man on a mission, and is motivated by the weakness of the American heavyweights, and how the Russians are dominating.
You also left out other American prospects:Deontay Wilder, David Rodriguez, and Tor Hamer. .
Briggs has always had very good hand-speed for a heavyweight - I think the things that held him back even when he was really an exeptional talent will still exist. Those are his conditioning and chin.
He is even older now, so those explosive combinations he uses to overwhelm plodding guys in the early rounds will sap even more from him if he doesn't get the KO.
He does have a lot of big fight experience (relative to the majority of heavyweights) so he may be able to make adjustments as far as using his fast hands and experience to give some guys problems. But right now, there are only 3 heavyweights of note, Wlad, Vitaili and Haye (Adamek could be knocking too) and I don't think Briggs has much of a chance (outside of a early round KO) of beating any of those 3.
The best American Heavyweight prospect is Tavoris Cloud in my opinion.
As for Briggs, he will probably beat a few guys like the caliber he is fighting. He might even beat a contender. However, it is doubtful he could beat Haye, so it is near impossible he could beat Vitali or Wladimir.
But I will say that I WOULD NOT be surprised if Briggs fights Wladimir and Briggs wins by KO. It is a great possibility. Lamon Brewster, Corrie Sanders and Ross Puritty aren't near as powerful as Briggs. No matter what people say, Wladimir has a weak chin and Briggs has a lot of power. The LIKELY outcome if they fought is Klitschko to win by TKO or UD, but Briggs has a realistic punchers chance.
i have been rooting for shannon briggs to take over the heavyweight division for YEARS! always was a fan and always liked watching him fight. but i gave up on his lazy azz because its clear that he doesnt care and doesnt want to fight anymore. its always the same scenario: he gets a couple of fights against bums, knocks them out, and proclaims he's "back!" then, he disappears! he CONSTANTLY btichez-n-complains and make excuses: "my asthma....i had pneumonia....lou dibella held me back....no one will give me a chance.... no one likes that i'm outspoken and it's hurt my career.....screw boxing, i'm going to mma!" blah, blah, blah. he has backed out of more fights than i can count, and has had more self-proclaimed "comebacks" than any fighter in recent memory. that is not the behaviour of a boxer who wants to fight, let alone take over the division! people should realize, just as i have, that shannon is a b.s. artist.
if shannon REALLY wanted to take over the division, he would do what tomaz adamek is doing right now: fighting stiff competition every few months and winning. tomaz is clearly preparing himself for an eventual showdown with a klitschko. and that to me is what a heavyweight (or any fighter for that matter) is SUPPOSED to do: work hard and prepare yourself to fight for a world title. not btichez-n-complains all the time, year after friggin' year like shannon briggs does.
Personally, I think Briggs' comeback is a waste of his time. I think the Klitschkos and Haye would out work Briggs at this point in his career. I can't see Briggs getting pass the jabs of either Klitschko brother.