By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs (60-6-1, 53 KOs) is already making predictions about his fight against David Haye (28-2, 26 KOs) even though the fight still isn’t made yet between them. They’re supposed to fight each other in September or so. Briggs thinks he’s going to KO Haye in the first round. Briggs says he thinks Haye is a shot fighter.
I’m not going to disagree with Briggs about him think Haye is a shot fighter. I mean, Briggs is the boxing expert. If he thinks Haye is a shot fighter, then who am I to disagree with a boxing great like Briggs.
I do know that Haye was huffing and puffing in his last fight against Arnold Gjergjaj last month. Haye was starting to gas out after just two minutes of round one. I think the combination of four years out of the ring combined with the weight gain has done a real number on Haye’s cardiovascular system because he was looking haggard in the 1st round of that fight.
Briggs agreed to fight on Haye’s recent fight card if he could get a fight against him. Briggs did his part by knocking out Emilio Esquiel Zarate in the 1st round on Haye’s card last month on May 21. For his part, Haye defeated Arnold Gjergjaj in the 2nd round. Both of their opponents looked horrible, which is why they stopped them so easily. It’s hard to know whether Briggs and Haye can beat good fighters because they haven’t beaten anyone that you can call a good fighter in well over a decade.
“David Haye will fall in one round,” Briggs said to skysports.com. “In memory of Muhammad Ali I will be knocking out David Haye in one round. I’m very confident that I will be winning the fight. Not only winning the fight in England but I will be residing in England for some time.”
Haye-Briggs is basically a toss-up fight. Both guys have an even chance of winning. Haye has more hand speed and is a little younger than the 44-year-old Briggs. But in terms of punching power, they’re pretty even. Briggs might punch a little harder when he throws to the body. The 250lb Briggs has got a considerable weight advantage over the 224lb Haye. It doesn’t matter if Haye bulks up by putting on a little more weight, he’s not a true heavyweight like Briggs. Haye is just a pumped up heavyweight who got to the heavyweight division by eating and pumping iron to get his weight up.
The 6’4” Briggs has been weighing in the 240s for the past 16 years. He’s just a really big guy with KO power in both hands. He’s totally dangerous for a small heavyweight like Haye, and I can see this going badly for Haye if he gets hit with some of Brigg’ body shots in this fight.
Haye can take a pretty good head shot but there’s nothing he can do about punches that are thrown to his boy. It doesn’t matter how good he can take a head shot. If Briggs connects with one of his big body punches, Haye is going to react just like the fodder opponents Briggs has been feasting on since he started his comeback in 2014.
“I think that David is a good boxer but at the same time he’s taken some time off, he’s a young guy and you have to question why? I think that David knows he’s shot and I’m going to prove it to the world that it’s over for him,” said Briggs.
So there it is. Haye is a shot fighter, says Briggs. Haye is a shot fighter and about to get exposed, according to Briggs. Oh man, if Briggs KOs Haye it’s going to look bad for Haye, isn’t it? He can basically forget about his pipe dream of fighting Anthony Joshua, I guess, unless Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn decides to throw him a bone in an example of showing him charity.
If Joshua and Hearn give Haye a sympathy fight, they’ll have every heavyweight beating down their doors to be given a fight too. There’s got to be some kind of standards and barriers set up to weed out heavyweights that haven’t earned a title shot otherwise just anybody will be pleading for a fight after beating a couple of bottom feeders in the heavyweight division.