By Paul McCreath: This coming Saturday night in Hamburg Germany Vitali Klitschko puts his version of the heavyweight title on the line against challenger Shannon Briggs. To say this is a mismatch would be putting it lightly.The latest odds I have heard are about 30-1 in Vitali’s favor.While some have tried to make this look like a competitive match by sighting the hand speed and power of Briggs along with Vitali’s alleged deterioration due to age, I just can’t buy that argument. It might be an interesting and lively fight for 2 or 3 rounds but that is about it.
Nobody would deny that Shannon can punch and has fast hands but so what? When has he ever showed that he can land effectively against a top fighter in his prime? The answer is never. There is no doubt that Briggs has looked great in stopping multiple tomato cans throughout his career but that remains his one bright spot.He has never shown that he can do this against top 10 fighters. He has been beaten nearly every time he has stepped up.He was KO’d by Darroll Wilson and that was when Briggs was in his prime! He also was outpointed by Jameel McCline and Sedrick Fields! Does anybody think that any of those fighters would have any chance at all with Vitali?
The last time Briggs fought a competitive fight was over three years ago and he looked terrible in losing his title to Sultan Ibragimov.Before that he looked bad in pulling out a last second KO win over Sergei Liakhovich who we know now was damaged goods at the time. Neither he nor Lamon Brewster were ever the same again after their war a few months earlier. Briggs was behind on all three cards going into the last round. The fact is that it has been many years since Briggs was at his peak and he was not all that good even then.His best win was over 48 year old George Foreman and nearly everyone but the judges had Foreman winning that bout easily.
As for Vitali getting old and declining, sure he probably is but not a whole lot. Remember he is only a year older than Shannon and since his return he has been healthy and in top shape at all times. He has fought 5 world title fights while Briggs has either been idle or meeting tomato cans. In one of those fights in December 2009 Briggs had a KO win over Marcus McGee changed to a no contest when he tested positive for a banned substance.It has never been officially divulged what that substance was but word is that it was a steroid.When you look at Brigg’s build that is not hard to believe.
The facts are that there is a huge difference between looking good against a series of tomato cans and doing so against world class opposition and history tells us Briggs has never made that jump.If you are not already convinced take a look at Brigg’s fight in 2005 against over 40 year old drug addict Ray Mercer on YouTube. Mercer controlled that fight for 7 rounds with his jab.He couldn’t miss Briggs with it. While Ray had a good jab it was nowhere nearly as good as Vitali’s. It should be remembered too that the ending to the Mercer fight was controversial. Briggs the house fighter won by holding the off balance Mercer against the ropes with his back turned and hitting him in the back of the head with the other hand,clearly a rule violation. If Mercer had not been the designated loser that night Briggs would have been disqualified.We all know the visitor gets no breaks in boxing.
The one thing that will most certainly defeat Briggs is the stamina issue. For years now he has gassed out early in most fights in spite of throwing very few punches. Vitali on the other hand gets stronger late in his fights. Since his return to the ring he has stopped Sam Peter in 8, Juan Carlos Gomez in 9 and both Chris Arreola and Albert Sosnowski in 10. Kevin Johnson refused to fight and lasted the full 12. This is hardly the sign of a tired old fighter and if you are pinning your hopes on a Briggs KO forget it. Vitali has never even been knocked off his feet and he has been hit hard a few times over the years. If Lennox Lewis couldn’t put him down there is no way Briggs will.
Summing up I would say that fans should heed the word of former circus great PT Barnum who once said there is a sucker born every minute. Don’t fall for the Briggs hype job. I like Shannon.He is a colorful character and good for boxing but he is a con artist. His record is a mirage. There can only be one ending to this fight,a brutal beating with Briggs on the receiving end.
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