At 42 year-old Shannon ‘The Cannon’ Briggs 53-6-1 (47) is attempting to walk the walk fighting for the 3rd time in less than a month versus journeyman opponent Matthew Greer 16-12 (13) as he tries to muscle his way back into the heavyweight division.

Many of us were taken by surprise on April 22 when ‘The Cannon’ gatecrashed the Wladimir Klitschko v Alex Leapei press conference after a 4 year hiatus from the sport. Briggs burst right up to the table trash talking and goading Wladimir saying that he was being avoided and that Leapei was a bum. Being that this is he first time anyone has seen Briggs since Wladimir’s brother Vitali Klitschko delivered him a one sided beat down in 2010 this all seemed a bit bizarre.

Stripped down to his boxing shorts (as if ready to fight immediately) Briggs looked old facially but otherwise in good shape. He had already fought twice in 8 days previously to his public outburst with 1st round knockout victories against journey man fighters Maurenzo Smith 12-9-3(9) and Francisco Mireles 17-9 (5) on the 11th and 18th of April respectively.

I’m struggling to believe Briggs motivation to actually fight Wladimir Klitschko. Its more likely that after his two comeback fights he was annoyed at the zero interest in his return. Hence he reason he resorted to cheap tactics in antagonising Wladimir. The fact is it worked to an extent. I mean I don’t even know why I’m writing about this has been. He’s all mouth and no action. Briggs has been flirting with the top since he retired George Foreman in November 1997. Despite this victory almost 17 years ago he has only captured one world title since, the WBO when he beat Siarhei Liakhovich in 2006. Briggs subsequently lost the belt in his very next fight. I don’t think he has any intention of fighting Wlad. There are a lot of heavyweights now that are looking to get a piece of the pie once Wladamir retires and all 4 titles are up for grabs. Theres just something nagging away at me suggesting he may have something left to give post the Klitschko era.

Is Briggs good enough to be involved in the mix post Klitschko?

I don’t see why not. Even in his battered defeat to Vitaly he showed that he was tough in getting to the final bell. He has 47 knockouts from his 53 wins and he won’t have lost much of that power. We are still unsure whether these undefeated heavyweight hopefuls like Bryant Jennings, Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury and Mike Perez are the real deal. Whether or not Briggs does have the skills and motivation to make his mark I think its fair to say that if any of the aforementioned prospects were to fight him they would be making a step up. Even if Briggs isn’t good enough to win a world title he may be able to separate some of the weak from the chasing pack over the next couple of years.