By Dave Lahr: On October 16th, WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s) is finally going to be facing someone his own size and strength in 6’4″ Shannon Briggs in their fight at the World Arena, in Hamburg, Germany. Klitschko hasn’t had to take on any sluggers until now and has been dining on smaller, weaker opposition. Well, my question is whether Vitali will pack up his bags and call it a career if Briggs plants him on the deck in a crushing one-punch knockout.
Klitschko-Briggs
Briggs: “He [Vitali] is going to be fighting for his life from the opening bell”
![Image: Briggs: "He [Vitali] is going to be fighting for his life from the opening bell"](https://www.boxingnews24.com/wp-content/uploads/briggs422.jpg "briggs422")
By Dave Lahr: Former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KO’s) is ready to take the head off of World Boxing Council (WBC)heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s) on October 16th in their title fight at the O2 World Arena, Altona, in Hamburg, Germany. The younger, faster, more powerful Briggs will be looking to jump all over the 39-year-old Ukrainian at the opening bell next month and stop him in an impressive fashion and take his WBC strap from him. Briggs has got the power to deaden Vitali’s senses in an instant, and he’s certainly got the hand speed and size to make it happen. Klitschko has been matched up against either weak punchers or much smaller fighters since he staged his comeback two years ago.
Briggs needs to do a Lennox Lewis on Vitali
By Dave Lahr: Former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KO’s) has been selected out of all the possible top 15 opponents to face World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s) next month on October 16th at the O2 World Arena, Altona, in Hamburg, Germany. As far as I can tell, next to no one is giving poor Briggs any chance of beating Vitali in this fight.
Vitali Klitschko – The heavyweight weak link?
By Mark Hepplestall: Vitali Klitschko is a Ukrainian Boxer who holds the WBC world heavyweight title; his 42 fight record consists of 40 won, 38 by KO and lost 2 by TKO due to cuts. His most notable fights include victories over Corrie Sanders, Vaughn Bean and Danny Williams and most infamous, a loss to Lennox Lewis on cuts when Vitali was winning on points.
Klitschko vs. Briggs: Shannon must focus on Vitali’s weak skin around his eyes
By Dave Lahr: If former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KO’s) wants to walk out of O2 Arena, in Hamburg, Germany with a win over World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s) on October 16th, then Briggs needs to focus on landing his shots around the eyes of the 39-year-old Klitschko. As we’ve seen in some of his fights in the past, Klitschko tends to swell up and cut when hit around the eyes. In his fight with Lennox Lewis in 2003, Vitali was a bloody mess after only four rounds of the fight and looked like he had crawled out of a major car wreck by the time the referee stopped the fight in the 6th due to the massive cuts Klitschko had suffered around the eyes and his lip area.
Klitschko vs. Briggs: Does Vitali have enough left to overcome Shannon’s power and speed advantage?
By Matt Stein: Former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KO’s) still may be a little rusty from inactivity as he enters his fight against WBC heavyweight Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s) on October 16th, at the O2 World Arena, in Hamburg, Germany.
Klitschko vs. Briggs: Shannon needs to jump on Vitali early
By Matt Stein: Shannon Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KO’s) has a formidable task in front of him on October 16th in his heavyweight clash with WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s). While the 38-year-old Briggs may have the bigger power and the faster hand speed, he’s not as tall as Klitschko and isn’t nearly as good of a boxer as he is.
Vitali Klitschko in talks with Adamek’s management for bout in March
By Eric Thomas: World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s) is reportedly in talks with the management of heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek (42-1, 27 KO’s) for a bout that would take place in March at Madison Square Garden, according to the latest boxing news. This is kind of presuming a lot on Klitschko’s part, because Adamek is said to be fighting 6’8″ Lance “Mount” Whitaker (35-6-1, 28 KO’s) next and as bad as Adamek looked in beating 38-year-old Michael Grant on August 21st in a 12 round decision, you can’t really assume that Adamek can get by even 38-year-old Whitaker.
Briggs predicts “30-second” knockout of Vitali Klitschko
By Jim Dower: Former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KO’s) is predicting a “30 second” knockout over 39-year-old WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s) in boxing news from ESPN.com. Briggs, 38, says he’s going to make Klitschko a “30-second, 1st round victim. That’s how a lot of my fights end.” Klitschko and Briggs will be meeting on October 16th at the O2 World Arena, Altona, in Hamburg, Germany. Briggs lost his WBO heavyweight title against Russian Sultan Ibragimov in 2007. However, after sitting idle for more than two years, Briggs has rattled off four consecutive 1st round knockout victories over 2nd tier opposition and has looked very impressive in doing so.
Vitali Klitschko vs. Shannon Briggs could be shown on ESPN on October 16th
By Jason Kim: For fans of World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO’s), they may get the opportunity to see his next fight against 38-year-old former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KO’s) on ESPN, according to boxing news from Dan Rafael of ESPN.