Older, wiser Briggs chasing Klitschko
Shannon Briggs held the linear heavyweight championship when he scored a majority decision victory in November 1997 in what would be George Foreman’s last fight.
Few paid attention to Briggs at the time, and that was just fine with him. He was too busy having fun outside the ring.
“I was more focused on being a celebrity than utilizing my abilities,” Briggs said. “I was young and flashy and I went out and had a good time.”
Not surprisingly, Briggs was stopped by Lennox Lewis in his next fight in March 1998. He was only marginally committed to boxing after that, fought a collection of misfits and stiffs and essentially disappeared.
But Briggs, 35, suddenly re-emerged last year as a player in the heavyweight division after 11 consecutive wins. He signed to fight IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko in November at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Although that deal never was completed, Briggs still came out all right. He landed a shot against WBO champion Sergei Liakhovich on Nov. 4.
Despite trailing on all three judges’ scorecards after 11 rounds, Briggs rallied to stop Liakhovich and win the belt.
His thoughts immediately turned to Klitschko. But Briggs instead will defend against mandatory challenger Sultan Ibragimov on June 2 in Atlantic City and seek a unification bout with Klitschko after that.
He doesn’t sound too hopeful, though.
“Klitschko did some sneaky (stuff) and used my name to sell tickets in the Garden, because he knows how popular I am in New York,” said Briggs, a Brooklyn native. “Some of the terms were ridiculous. Klitschko’s company had to promote my next three or four fights if I won, some crazy (stuff), but I didn’t care. I just wanted the fight.
“But he never intended to fight me. It was false advertising. They just used me to block Don King from getting (a card) into the Garden.”
Briggs said he’s highly motivated to beat Ibragimov so he can try to unify the belts. He added that he has learned from his youthful partying days and won’t blow this chance.
However, Briggs is miffed by what he perceives as a lack of support for him from the American media given his status as the only U.S.-born heavyweight champion.
“I know there are certain powers who would rather have the champions be Eastern European because there’s more money in it,” Briggs said. “There’s not money in the American heavyweight division now. But I’m going to turn that around. After I get rid of this guy, I’m straight after Klitschko and we’ll go out and break up this mess.”
• PETER’S UP — Speaking of messes, a settlement was finally reached in the discussions about whether Las Vegan Samuel Peter or former champion Vitali Klitschko would get the next shot at WBC champion Oleg Maskaev.
Peter won the right to be next by beating James Toney twice in eliminator bouts. But then he accepted a deal to step aside so Klitschko could come out of retirement to fight Maskaev.
Last week, Klitschko’s advisers told Maskaev he wouldn’t be ready to fight on June 2 — saying Klitschko trainer Fritz Sdunek is ill — and the champion wound up agreeing to fight Peter.
A date for that bout hasn’t been arranged, but the winner will face Klitschko next.
“My main objective was to regain my world title that I never lost in the ring,” Klitschko said in a written statement.
• WRIGHT-HOPKINS — Mandalay Bay Events Center has landed the July 21 fight between light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins and former super welterweight champion Winky Wright.
The bout, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, will be contested at a catch weight of 170 pounds. The light heavyweight limit is 175, and super middleweight is 168.
• PACQUIAO’S CORNER — Super featherweight Manny Pacquiao, who fights Jorge Solis on a pay-per-view card Saturday in San Antonio, still isn’t certain if trainer and mentor Freddie Roach will be in his corner that night.
Roach is in Puerto Rico preparing Oscar De La Hoya for his May 5 super welterweight bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand Garden and has yet to receive De La Hoya’s permission to fly to San Antonio to work with Pacquiao.
Golden Boy is embroiled in a lawsuit with Pacquiao and Top Rank, which is promoting the San Antonio card, over the rights to the fighter.
“So what do you think?” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said of the likelihood of De La Hoya allowing Roach to work with Pacquiao.
But Pacquiao said he’s content to work with Roach assistant Justin Fortune.
“Having Justin is just like having Freddie,” Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao is running for Congress in his native Philippines but said little when queried repeatedly about how he would combine a boxing career with politics before declining to discuss the subject at all.
• LICENSE PLEA — Trainer Roger Mayweather has formally requested the Nevada Athletic Commission reinstate his license so he can work for nephew Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the De La Hoya fight.
Roger Mayweather was fined and suspended last year for his role in an April 2006 brawl during the Floyd Mayweather-Zab Judah fight at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Roger Mayweather entered the ring to complain to referee Richard Steele after what he thought were intentional fouls by Judah. Steele restrained the trainer, but both camps charged into the ring.
In an unsigned letter faxed to the commission requesting reinstatement, Roger Mayweather wrote, “I made a grave mistake that caused me, my nephew, the state of Nevada and all of boxing a great deal of embarrassment. Over the past year I had a great deal of time to reflect on the incident, and given the situation again, I would not enter the ring again.”
The commission will consider his request Tuesday.
• MORALES — Three-division world champion Erik Morales will return to the ring in the summer to challenge David Diaz for the WBC lightweight title.
No date or site has been selected, though it is expected to be Aug. 18. A Top Rank spokesman said the bout probably would be in Las Vegas, San Diego or Chicago.
On that undercard, Top Rank plans to match IBF light flyweight champion Ulises Solis against WBO minimum-weight champion Ivan Calderon.
