Shannon Briggs

Shannon Briggs
Statistics
Real name	Shannon Briggs
Nickname(s)	The Cannon
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Reach	80 in (203 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1971-12-04) December 4, 1971 Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	67
Wins	59
Wins by KO	52
Losses	6
Draws	1
No contests	1

Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American professional boxer. He is a former lineal and WBO world heavyweight champion. Nicknamed "The Cannon", Briggs currently holds the record for most first-round knockouts at 36. He has also had a minor acting career, appearing in the 2003 film Bad Boys II.

Early life

Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, Briggs was homeless for a period in his childhood. At age 17, Briggs began training at Jimmy O'Pharrow's Starrett City Boxing Club in Brooklyn, NY. He was diagnosed with asthma as a child, which made his mother skeptical of him having any success in boxing. Shannon vowed to knockout all of his opponents in the first round so his mother wouldn't have to worry about his breathing condition. He attributes the promise he made to his mother as the motivation behind him becoming the record holder for "most first round knockouts" in boxing history. Shannon's mother died due to a heroin overdose on December 4, 1986, Shannon's birthday in Brownsville, Brooklyn, NY.

Amateur career

Briggs became New York City Golden Gloves champion, New York State Champion, National P.A.L. Champion and finished second place as a Heavyweight at the Panamerican Games in 1991, losing the final to Félix Savón. In 1992 he became the United States Amateur Champion.

Professional career

Briggs began his career in 1992 and was undefeated in his first 25 fights, and was trained by Teddy Atlas. He suffered his first loss when he was knocked out in three rounds by undefeated Darroll Wilson in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1996. The fight was broadcast on HBO and was a showcase of young heavyweight fighters.

Lineal Championship vs Foreman

Main article: George Foreman vs. Shannon Briggs

Coming into the fight, Briggs sported a 29–1 record with; 24 of his wins came by way of knockout after fighting a total of 86 rounds. However, despite his impressive record, his one loss had been a third round knockout against Darroll "Doin' Damage" Wilson on HBO the previous year which halted his momentum and hurt his status as one of the premier up-and-coming heavyweights. However, realizing that a win over Foreman would get him back into contention, Briggs vowed to be ready for the fight stating that he was "confident that I can go in and fight for 12 rounds and win a decision."

After capturing the WBA and IBF titles from Michael Moorer late in 1994, George Foreman forfeited both titles but retained the Lineal championship and successfully defended that crown (as well as the lowly regarded WBU heavyweight title) against then-undefeated prospects Crawford Grimsley and Lou Savarese. Following his win over Savarese, Foreman was given the opportunity to face Lennox Lewis for Lewis' WBC heavyweight title, with Foreman first having to win a "eliminator" bout against a contender. The WBC supplied Foreman with a list of acceptable opponents, including future heavyweight champions Chris Byrd and Hasim Rahman and the recently returned former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion James "Buster" Douglas, though Foreman ultimately picked Briggs.

The Fight

The fight was a controversial one as Briggs ultimately picked up the victory by way of majority decision. Through the course of the fight, Foreman landed more punches and had a higher percentage of his punches land than Briggs. Foreman landed 284 of his 488 punches for a 58% success rate while Briggs only landed 45% of his punches, going 223 for 488.

Foreman spent much of the fight as the aggressor while Briggs spent a lot of the fight retreating. In the later rounds Foreman's power punches seemed to take a toll on the younger Briggs, as he began slowing down and all but abandoned his tactic of moving away from Foreman and was hit from some heavy shots as a result. In the 12th and final round, Foreman tried hard for a knockout victory and was able to break Briggs' nose but was unable to score a knockdown. As a result, the result went to the judge's scorecards.

One judge scored the fight a draw at 114–114 while the other two had the fight scored 116–112 and 117–113 in favor of Briggs, giving him both the majority decision win and the Lineal heavyweight title.

Title Bout vs Lennox Lewis - "March Badness"

Main article: Lennox Lewis vs. Shannon Briggs

After Lennox Lewis successfully defended his WBC title in a dominating first round knockout victory over Andrew Golota, he agreed to defend his title against the winner between Briggs-Foreman in the elimination bout organized by the WBC to determine who would become Lewis' next opponent. Though Foreman's promoters protested the result and Lewis instead turned his attention to a potential unification match with Evander Holyfield, Lewis ultimately agreed to defend his WBC championship against Briggs in a fight billed as "March Badness".

The Fight

With only 30 seconds left in the first round, Briggs was able to land a short left hand that staggered Lewis. Briggs then began a furious 20-second rally that saw him land several power punches in an attempt to gain the knockout victory. Briggs concluded his assault with a right hook that sent Lewis stumbling into the corner with 15 seconds left, Briggs quickly attempted to continue his attack with Lewis in the corner, but Lewis was able to get a hold of Briggs and clinched him until the round ended. Lewis rebounded in round two and much like in the previous round, used his left jab to keep Briggs at bay. However, as the second minute of the round came to a close, Briggs landed a powerful left hook that staggered Lewis, but Lewis was able to withstand Briggs' follow-up combination and ended the round strongly by landing two combinations within the round's last 10 seconds.

Lewis began the fourth round aggressively and landed a combination that sent Briggs into the ropes. Briggs attempted to backpedal away, but Lewis landed a right hand that stunned Briggs. After continuing his assault on Briggs, Lewis was finally to gain a knockdown after a right hook dropped Briggs to the canvas 43 seconds into the round. After being dominated by Lewis for the entire round, Briggs was able to land some offense and hit Lewis with a strong left hand with 42 seconds left in the round. Lewis avoided Briggs' follow-up punches and countered with a left hook and a three-punch combination that again sent Briggs down to mat. Briggs was able to answer the referee's count at eight and survived the remainder of the round.

In the fifth round, Lewis knocked Briggs down for the third time with a powerful right hook at 1:09 into the round. Briggs laid flat on his back for five second but got back up at the count of eight and continued with the fight. After Briggs collapsed to the mat following a missed left hook, referee Frank Cappuccino stopped the fight and awarded Lewis the victory by technical knockout.

2006-2010

WBO title vs Liakhovich

Shannon won the WBO heavyweight title when he knocked out Sergei Liakhovich in the last round of a November 4, 2006, matchup. After a lackluster 11 rounds which left the Arizona crowd restless, Briggs was losing on all three judges' scorecards. Sensing urgency, Briggs pressed the fight in the 12th round and knocked Liakhovich down. Briggs subsequently trapped him on the ropes and continued his assault, knocking Liakhovich out of the ring. Liakhovich landed on a ringside table, and the referee stopped the bout. The official time was 2:59.[2]

Defense vs Ibragimov

In his first title defense Shannon Briggs was to face Sultan Ibragimov on March 10, 2007; however, Briggs pulled out of the fight because he was diagnosed with "aspirational pneumonia." The fight was rescheduled fifty days later in Atlantic City on June 2, 2007, with a sluggish Briggs losing in a unanimous decision.

Bout vs Vitali Klitschko

On October 16, 2010 Briggs fought in a WBC title challenge against Vitali Klitschko in the O₂ World at Hamburg. His entrance music for the fight was performed by DJ Structure the Spin Dr. During the fight Briggs took a severe beating and, after the fight, went down in his quarters. Brought to a hospital Briggs was initially treated in intensive care and found to have suffered a left orbital fracture, a broken nose, and a torn left bicep. In addition, he had another facial fracture above the right eye and a burst ear drum.

Briggs was promoted by Don King Productions and is self managed.

2014 Comeback

In 2014, Briggs has won 6 bouts, winning 5 by knockout, earning the NABA Heavyweight title in the process.

K-1 Career

Briggs competed briefly for the K-1 kickboxing promotion in 2004. In his lone kickboxing match, he knocked out Tom Erikson, a mixed martial artist with a background in collegiate wrestling, just over a minute into round one at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Saitama in Saitama, Japan on March 27, 2004.

Outside the ring

Briggs is also an actor. He made his television acting debut on New York Undercover in 1995 and has since appeared in feature films Bad Boys II, with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, Transporter 2, and The Wackness.

Briggs also made an appearance on the Fugees' breakthrough album, The Score. He appears in the music video for rapper Thirstin Howl III's song "Surrounded By Criminals" (from his 2011 album Natural Born Skiller).

Shannon Briggs was summoned to US Federal Court District South Carolina on June 7, 2012, according to court documents Kali Bowyer, Briggs' ex-publicist was awarded over $420,000.00 plus interest for her services.

Briggs has also coined the phrase "Let's go champ" as his official rally cry and motivational tool for his followers on Instagram. He can be seen on every Instagram video he posts repeating the phrase over and over again for motivation.

Championships and awards

Boxing

• International Boxing Union
  • IBU World Heavyweight (+91 kg/200 lb) Championship

• New York Golden Gloves
  • New York Golden Gloves Heavyweight (+75 kg/175 lb) Championship

• North American Boxing Association
  • NABA Heavyweight (+91 kg/200 lb) Championship

• North American Boxing Organization
  • NABO Heavyweight (+91 kg/200 lb) Championship

• Pan American Games
  • 1991 Pan American Games Heavyweight (-91 kg/200 lb) Boxing Silver Medalist

• United States Boxing Association
  • USBA Heavyweight (+91 kg/200 lb) Championship

• United States national amateur boxing championships
  • United States Amateur Heavyweight (-91 kg/200 lb) Championship

• World Boxing Council
  • WBC Fecarbox Heavyweight (+91 kg/200 lb) Championship
  • WBC Latino Heavyweight (+91 kg/200 lb) Championship

• World Boxing Organization
  • WBO World Heavyweight (+91 kg/200 lb) Championship

Professional boxing record

59 Wins (52 knockouts), 6 Losses, 1 Draw, 1 No Contest
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	59-6-1 1 NC	Michael Marrone	KO	2 (10)	05/09/2015	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood, Hollywood, Florida
Win	58-6-1 1 NC	Zoltan Petranyi	KO	1 (10)	27/03/2015	Hotel Sortis, Panama City, Panama	Referee deducted one point from Briggs for illegal action.
Win	57-6-1 1 NC	Richard Carmack	KO	1 (10)	01/11/2014	Isle of Capri Casino, Lula, Mississippi, USA	Carmack down three times.
Win	56-6-1 1 NC	Cory Phelps	TKO	1 (10)	23/08/2014	Ring of Dreams Boxing Gym, Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Retained NABA heavyweight title and won interim WBC Latino heavyweight title.
Win	55-6-1 1 NC	Raphael Zumbano Love	UD	12	28/06/2014	Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Won vacant NABA heavyweight title. Raphael Zumbano Love was down in the 12th round.
Win	54-6-1 1 NC	Matthew Greer	TKO	1 (10)	17/05/2014	Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort, Chester, West Virginia	Greer down once.
Win	53-6-1 1 NC	Francisco Mireles	KO	1 (10)	19/04/2014	Black Bear Casino, Carlton, Minnesota
Win	52-6-1 1 NC	Maurenzo Smith	KO	1 (10)	11/04/2014	Double Tree Westshore Hotel, Tampa, Florida
Loss	51-6-1 1 NC	Vitali Klitschko	UD	12	16/10/2010	O2 World Hamburg, Altona, Hamburg	For WBC heavyweight title.
Win	51-5-1 1 NC	Rob Calloway	TKO	1 (10)	28/05/2010	Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia
Win	50-5-1 1 NC	Dominique Alexander	TKO	1 (10)	21/05/2010	Capitale, New York
Win	49-5-1 1 NC	Rafael Pedro	KO	1 (10)	13/04/2010	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood, Hollywood, Florida	Won vacant WBC Latino heavyweight title.
NC	48-5-1 1 NC	Marcus McGee	NC	1 (8)	03/12/2009	Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, New York	Originally a 1st round KO, result changed to a no contest after Briggs tested positive for a banned substance.
Loss	48-5-1	Sultan Ibragimov	UD	12	02/06/2007	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City	Lost WBO heavyweight title.
Win	48-4-1	Siarhei Liakhovich	TKO	12 (12)	04/11/2006	Chase Field, Phoenix	Won WBO heavyweight title. Briggs won the fight with one second left. Liakohvich down twice in round 12.
Win	47-4-1	Chris Koval	RTD	3 (12)	24/05/2006	Hammerstein Ballroom, New York	Retained NABO & NABA heavyweight titles. Won vacant USBA heavyweight title.
Win	46-4-1	Dicky Ryan	KO	4 (12)	18/03/2006	Fort Smith, Arkansas	Won vacant NABA & NABO heavyweight titles.
Win	45-4-1	Luciano Zolyone	KO	1 (12)	10/12/2005	Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico	Won vacant WBC FECARBOX heavyweight title.
Win	44-4-1	Brian Scott	KO	1 (10)	26/11/2005	Fort Smith, Arkansas
Win	43-4-1	Ray Mercer	KO	7 (10)	26/08/2005	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood, Hollywood, Florida
Win	42-4-1	Abraham Okine	TKO	3 (10)	10/06/2005	Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York
Win	41-4-1	Demetrice King	TKO	2 (6)	03/03/2005	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	40-4-1	Jeff Pegues	TKO	1 (10)	06/03/2004	Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York
Win	39-4-1	Wade Lewis	TKO	3 (8)	28/08/2003	The Plex, North Charleston, South Carolina
Win	38-4-1	John Sargent	TKO	1 (12)	19/07/2003	War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale	Won vacant IBU heavyweight title.
Win	37-4-1	Marvin Hill	TKO	1 (10)	27/03/2003	War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale
Loss	36-4-1	Jameel McCline	UD	10	27/04/2002	Madison Square Garden, New York	Briggs down in 6th.
Win	36-3-1	Reynaldo Minus	KO	1 (8)	01/12/2001	Jacob Javits Center, New York
Win	35-3-1	Jason Waller	TKO	1 (10)	19/10/2001	The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas	Waller down twice.
Win	34-3-1	Russell Chasteen	KO	1 (10)	07/04/2001	Coeur D'Alene Casino, Worley, Idaho
Win	33-3-1	Eric Curry	KO	1 (10)	02/11/2000	Coeur D'Alene Casino, Worley, Idaho
Loss	32-3-1	Sedreck Fields	MD	8	27/04/2000	Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City
Win	32-2-1	Waren Williams	TKO	3 (10)	24/02/2000	Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City
Draw	31-2-1	Francois Botha	MD	10	07/08/1999	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City	Botha down in round 8.
Win	31–2	Marcus Rhode	TKO	1 (10)	08/12/1998	Roseland Ballroom, New York City
Loss	30–2	Lennox Lewis	TKO	5 (12)	28/03/1998	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City	Lost Lineal heavyweight title. For WBC heavyweight title. Briggs down 3 times.
Win	30–1	George Foreman	MD	12	22/11/1997	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City	Won Lineal heavyweight title. Foreman's last fight.
Win	29–1	Jorge Valdes	TKO	10 (10)	24/06/1997	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Win	28–1	Melton Bowen	TKO	1 (10)	15/04/1997	West Orange, New Jersey	Bowen knocked down twice. Referee stops the fight without starting the count.
Win	27–1	Eric French	TKO	2 (8)	21/02/1997	Mahi Temple Shrine Auditorium, Miami
Win	26–1	Tim Ray	KO	1 (10)	25/09/1996	Robert Treat Hotel, Newark
Loss	25–1	Darroll Wilson	TKO	3 (10)	15/03/1996	Atlantic City Convention Center	Briggs down once in the 3rd round.
Win	25–0	Calvin Jones	TKO	1 (10)	15/12/1995	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	24–0	Sherman Griffin	TKO	1 (10)	22/09/1995	Lewiston, Maine
Win	23–0	Will Hinton	TKO	1 (8)	25/08/1995	Bally's Atlantic City, Atlantic City
Win	22–0	Marion Wilson	PTS	8	24/03/1995	Richard J. Codey Arena, West Orange, New Jersey
Win	21–0	Craig Payne	UD	8	13/01/1995	Bally's Atlantic City, West Orange
Win	20–0	Mike Faulkner	KO	2 (?)	21/10/1994	Palm Springs, California
Win	19–0	Mark Young	TKO	8 (?)	26/08/1994	Bally's Park Place Hotel Casino, West Orange, New Jersey, United States
Win	18–0	Exum Speight	TKO	1 (?)	04/08/1994	Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States
Win	17–0	Jimmy Ellis	TKO	1 (?)	12/03/1994	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	16–0	Mike Faulkner	KO	6 (?)	20/02/1994	Biloxi Belle Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, United States
Win	15–0	Danny Wofford	UD	6	09/12/1993	Paramount Theatre, New York, New York, United States
Win	14–0	Tim Noble	TKO	3 (?)	10/11/1993	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	13–0	Danny Blake	PTS	6	10/07/1993	Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	12–0	Bruce Johnson	TKO	1 (6)	22/05/1993	RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C., United States
Win	11–0	Ron Gullette	TKO	1 (6)	25/03/1993	Harrah's Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	10–0	Robert Pagan Perez	KO	1 (?)	09/12/1992	Newark, New Jersey, United States
Win	9–0	Rocky Bentley	PTS	4	04/12/1992	Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	8–0	Rick Honeycutt	TKO	1 (?)	21/11/1992	Miami, Florida, United States
Win	7–0	Tony Simpson	TKO	1 (?)	13/11/1992	Revere, Massachusetts, United States
Win	6–0	Donnie Penelton	KO	1 (?)	29/10/1992	Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Win	5–0	Juan Quintana	TKO	3 (?)	09/10/1992	Tiverton, Rhode Island, United States
Win	4–0	Greg Santos	KO	1 (?)	19/09/1992	Troy, New York, United States
Win	3–0	Ed Carlson	KO	1 (?)	28/08/1992	Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Win	2–0	Cedric Sims	KO	1 (?)	06/08/1992	Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
Win	1–0	John Basil Jackson	KO	1 (4)	24/07/1992	Catskill, New York, United States	Pro debut for Briggs.

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record
1 win (1 KOs), 0 losses, 0 draws Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record 2004-03-27 Win Tom Erikson K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Saitama Saitama, Japan KO (right cross) 1 1:03 1-0 Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

Filmography

Film credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Bad Boys II	Haitian Gang
2005	Transporter 2	Max
2007	Three Days to Vegas	Security Guard
2008	The Wackness	Bodyguard #1

Television appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Naked Sport	Himself	Documentary, EP Welcome to the Sewer
1995	New York Undercover	Ralphie	EP Knock You Out
2003	Trina: The Making of a Diamond Princess	Himself	Documentary
2006	Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith	Himself	Guest on Talk Show

External links

• Official website
• Professional boxing record for Shannon Briggs from BoxRec
• Shannon Briggs at the Internet Movie Database
• K-1 Sport profile

References

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Sergei Liakhovich	WBO Heavyweight Champion 4 November 2006 – 2 Jun 2007	Succeeded by Sultan Ibragimov
Preceded by John Bray	United States Amateur Heavyweight Champion 1992	Succeeded by Derrell Dixon
Preceded by George Foreman	Lineal Champion November 22, 1997 - March 28, 1998	Succeeded by Lennox Lewis