By James Slater – 40-year-old Shannon Briggs, the last American fighter to hold a slice of the heavyweight title, has recovered sufficiently from his brutal and painful loss to Vitali Klitschko to the point where he is making fresh comeback plans.“The Cannon” was on the receiving end of a wicked and prolonged beating at the hands of the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight king in October of 2010; the damaging loss putting him in a German hospital for a considerable amount of time. However, Briggs, in speaking with The Miami Herald, says the false reports put out after the fight were offensive.
“There were all kinds of rumours out there that I was in a coma and those were not true,” Briggs said. “ I have given my body enough time to recover and I am very proud of my conditioning since I returned to the gym. I’m 40 but thankfully, I haven’t been in many wars. The Klitschko fight was the obvious exception.”
Briggs says he is looking at a fight in either March of April, and that he is aware he will have to pace himself and see where he goes after the initial fight back. But is Briggs making a big mistake by opting to fight again?
The kind of sustained beating Briggs suffered for 12-rounds is the kind that will have left its mark. Briggs, as game as they come, may never be the same again due to what he went through in the name of pride 15-months ago. Sure, the colourful New Yorker will still be capable of beating your average journeyman and maybe a few fringe contenders; but the idea of Briggs reaching championship level again (which is surely his real goal) will seem unrealistic to many.
Can Briggs shock the world? Or will Shannon merely put his mind and body through more shock as he fights on?
Briggs, 51-6-1(45) has already put his name in the record books with fights against the likes of George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Ray Mercer, Siarhei Liakhovich and Klitschko, and the 40-year-old has ruled as linear and WBO heavyweight champ. With his sharp mind interested in launching a promotional company and doing other things, shouldn’t Briggs call time on his ring career, his head held high?