Photo credit: Public Address and KMG/Dmitriy Abramov – By Dave Lahr: WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s) and challenger former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KO’s) met earlier today in a press conference in Hamburg, Germany. The two fighters are busy drumming up support for their title clash on Saturday, October 16th. This was an unusual press conference because Vitali looked scared when he was forced to face Briggs up close in several stare downs. You could actually see the fear in Klitschko’s eyes. Briggs looked positively fierce and was totally unlike the timid opponents that have been matched up with Klitschko in his five-fight comeback. It looked like Vitali was ready to jump out of his socks at one point. He looked uncertain, and his eyes shifted away from Briggs when they started to tear up.

I can’t remember Vitali looking this scared since he took on World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis in 2003. Vitali looked frighted in his meetings with Lewis before the fight, a lot like how he appeared in his face to face meeting with Briggs today. This isn’t a good sign for Vitali and his loyal rabble.

Briggs said “I really feel for you. You have made a bad choice. You are going to meet an adversary that you have never met before. I can hit, box, and dodge my opponents punches. I have never prepared so well for a bout. When I have finished with Vitali, they can bring on Wladimir [his brother] immediately.” Yes, that is so true. After Briggs dispatched with the old 39-year-old Vitali, his German handlers need to cart out his weak-chinned brother IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko so he can be the next one that gets exposed by the blazing fast and powerful Briggs. Wladimir should be much easier to beat because he can’t take a solid shot.

Vitali says “It is not so easy to find an adversary for me or my brother. Shannon accepted immediately to fight me and I thank him for that. But when I hear him say he is going to propel me into retirement, that just makes me laugh. I am ready and I am going to show him that I deserve to wear this belt that has been worn by Tyson, Lewis and Muhammad Ali.” I don’t think Klitschko will retire after Briggs knocks him out. Vitali has too much ego to retire immediately, although that would be the wise thing for him to do.

Klitschko will stick around long enough to take one more beating from Briggs, and then he’ll be forced to retire. You can’t keep fighting after the 2nd beating. It will be academic at that point that Klitschko has no other choice but to retire, because WBA heavyweight champion David Haye will then have the perfect excuse to never have to face Vitali. And I can’t see Vitali sticking around and fighting for chump change as a contender.