Paul Briggs: "This Fight Will Be As Big As Winning My Kick Boxing World Title!"

By Tony Nobbs

15.01 - When Paul "The Hurricane" Briggs won his World Super Middleweight Kick Boxing Crown as a teenage phenomenon he did it in front of 70,000 Japanese. This Sunday, on the Tszyu-Leija undercard in Melbourne he is being showcased in front of an anticipated 30,000 plus fellow Australian's. And the 27 year old who is regarded as one of the best hopes for a World Title in Australian boxing believes his fight with Mississippi's Brad McNeil will be "one of the highlights of my life".

After an early morning training session at trainer Rod Waterhouse' gym on the Australian tourist capital, the Gold Coast in sunny Queensland on Wednesday, Briggs (18-1, 15 KO's) said he is expecting a tough start from his 26 year old opponent who has compiled a record of 13-2-2 with 9 KO's. "He's a puncher, a winner and he's got a big mouth. He says I'm chinny and he is going to knock me out. On paper it is a fight but in reality we have to see. I don't think he is going to enjoy it. He hasn't fought the opponents I have and he has never been hit by someone like me". Briggs and Waterhouse arrive in Melbourne on Thursday and the OPBF Lt Heavyweight Champion who moved to WBC #8 contender with knockouts over Glenn Kelly (four rounds) and Anthony Bigeni (83 seconds) in September and December, is looking forward to defeating McNeil and moving up in the rankings. "This, I think will be as big as winning my World Title as Kick Boxer. That was big, 70,000 but in this one, there will be 30,000 of my countrymen cheering me on. And against a Yank. It's going to be awesome".

Briggs also knows the importance of an impressive performance, with the 175 pound division expected to open up due to Roy Jones' journey north to face WBA Heavyweight Title Holder John Ruiz." I'm number eight now, and hopefully will move up after this fight as I've been staying busy. Antonio Tarver and Montell Griffin, two guys rated ahead of me are fighting for the IBF Title. We are in negotiations now to fight Eric Harding in March, he has verbally said he will come out here, we just have to get something in concrete from the WBC that the winner will get a shot. I've wanted Clinton Woods for a long time might get to fight him after all. If i can get in one corner for the World Title, i'd love him to be in the other and he is number three right now. It all starts Sunday."

Two other world rated Australians, Nedal Hussein and Danny Green, both from the Team Fenech stable, appear on Sundays card. WBC # 3 at Super Bantamweight Hussein (27-1, 14 KO) meets unknown Indonesian Samson Elnino while IBF # 11 Super Middleweight Green (13-0, 13 KO) takes on inactive North Queenslander Brad Mayo (15-8, 4 KO). Mayo's last fight was a one sided points loss over ten rounds to a cruise control Anthony Mundine on March 4. Briggs and Green engaged in three quality sparring sessions last week. In Sydney to initially spar Mundine (now # 2 WBA 168lb) Briggs wound up at Jeff Fenech's gym as Mundine was battling a hand injury and not available and found Green a much improved boxer from when the pair previously sparred in early September.

"Sparring Danny was awesome, he is firing. It was only the second bit of sparring I'd done since the Bigeni fight and I was a bit flat the first day. Then the second day, he belted me. He caught me with a left hook about thirty seconds from time which stunned me a bit. It was a wake up call and it put me in my lunatic mood. I'm not big on a lot of sparring, I only need about two spars to get my eye in, get in my scope, and I came back well the last day. Me and Danny are going to do this in the future, it will improve us both and it is what we need. It has really sharpened me up for this fight. I'm fit, I've done the work, we are getting out eleven rounds full on pace on the pads, yeah, I can't wait. I've got to win impressively, do my usual thing. We have been told that if one of the main fights end early, highlights of my fight will be shown in the U.S telecast. That will really lift my profile over there, knocking out one of their own".