Shannon Briggs, no stranger to the UK, says the love and support he gets from British fight fans has inspired him to try to fight over here once again. Briggs, inactive since his quick win over Emilio Ezequiel Zarate in May of 2016, the fight taking place on a David Haye under-card in London, tells Sky Sports he is all set to sit down before the British Boxing Board of Control, his intention to secure a license to box in the UK.
Briggs, who is now aged 47 but still looks to be in good physical shape, says he hopes to fight in the UK in the summer – but that if he cannot make this come off he could wind up fighting on the Tyson Fury/Tom Schwarz card in Las Vegas on June 15th.
“We’ve been trying to look for the right fight,” Briggs, 60-6-1(53) told Sky Sports. “I’m actually going to go in front of [the British Boxing Board of Control], and hopefully get a license here to fight. I’ve been licensed to fight in the U.S, but I would love to fight here in England. Hopefully you’ll see me in the ring in June or July, but I’ll be back this year hopefully. I get a great response from the people. People seem to be fans, so I’d love to fight here, but if not, I’ll hopefully fight on the under-card of Tyson Fury.”
Briggs said Fury has contacted him, and that the lineal heavyweight champ has been supportive, saying he will give Briggs “a shot” and get him on his card at The Thomas and Mack in Vegas. But Briggs could conceivably get a licence to box in the UK. Briggs passed all the mental and physical tests back in 2016 and there’s no real reason to think he would not do so again. His age could prove to be a barrier with the Board, though, so we will have to wait and see.
Briggs simply refuses to go away, and whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, it’s up to you. But, despite edging ever closer to his half-century, there could be some interesting fights still out there for Briggs. If he’s matched realistically, on the senior’s circuit, Briggs has every right to keep on keeping on. With fellow veteran Samuel Peter one fight into his own latest comeback, and having signed a deal with Salita Promotions, maybe these two ageing sluggers could collide. Hey, as an under-card fight, fans would likely show some interest in a Briggs/Peter clash.
Briggs still has fan support, as is evident by the crowds that show up to see him; here in the UK especially.
