by Geoffrey Ciani – This week’s 93rd edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with former two time heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KOs) who is preparing to challenge WBC champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KOs) on October 16 in Hamburg, Germany. Briggs spoke about his upcoming fight and also provided insight and opinions on his career and other matters pertaining to the current boxing landscape. Here is what he had to say:
On how excited he is to get the opportunity to challenge Vitali Klitschko for his WBC heavyweight title:
“Oh I’m super excited. This is a dream come true for me. After taking a couple of years off and walking away from boxing, I’m back. After four fights I’m actually fighting for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world. It’s the same belt Muhammad Ali held, and I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a great night of boxing and I’m looking forward to bringing the heavyweight championship back to America.”
On whether he feels he is ready for the challenge to face Vitali Klitschko:
“I’m 100% ready. I mean it was no surprise to me. I’m a two-time former heavyweight champion. I’ve been in four heavyweight championship fights. This isn’t my first rodeo and I’m looking forward to it. Why not me? To be honest with you Jenna, like I told you once before, ‘If not me, who?’ I don’t think there is another heavyweight alive right now that’s as capable as me to win the title, especially here in America.”
On previous claims he made back in May that he was not going to rush into a title shot and what has changed since:
“The opportunity presented itself. I’m 38 years old. I’ve been boxing professionally for eighteen years. I turned pro July 24, 1992 and shots come and go. If you look at Povetkin, he was presented with an opportunity. He felt he wasn’t ready. He’s an inexperienced guy, but here I am and I have the experience. It’s all about how seriously and how badly I want it, and I want it really bad. So I had to take the opportunity and jump on it and that’s what I’m doing.”
On how it would feel to win the WBC in his second attempt after he lost against Lennox Lewis the in his first bid for that belt:
“Well that belt is a very significant belt and it would be a very important belt for me to have, but you have to understand at the same time that I was actually defending my lineal heavyweight championship as well. So it wasn’t just that I was trying to get that belt. I was also defending mine, but unfortunately I came up in second place that night. But yeah, I’m looking forward to it. It’s a dream come true to get another shot at it. I’m going to take full advantage and this is it. I’m going to go after it and I’m going to bring it home.”
His views on Vitali Klitschko as a fighter:
“I think he’s a phenomenal fighter. He’s very talented, he’s very well trained, he’s a real strong guy. I think he’s a much stronger guy mentally than his brother Wladimir. He accepted the challenge whereas for many years Wladimir ducked me, and he has chosen to fight smaller weaker opposition in fear that I’m a puncher. Emanuel Steward knows me very well. He once trained me so he knows what Wladimir will be up against, and again, I feel as though Wladimir is mentally weak especially compared to his brother, so he wasn’t up for the challenge. His brother took it on. I’m very impressed. I think he’s a great champion, definitely a future Hall of Famer, and I have nothing but the utmost respect for his boxing ability and skills.”
On whether he believes Vitali Klitschko is the best heavyweight champion in the world right now:
“Vitali, yeah. As far as the current belt holders, if you look at his brother and you look at David Haye, I think he’s the best of them all. He’s proven his toughness against Lennox Lewis. He’s proven he can outbox guys like Sam Peter with ease. He took on a young inexperienced Arreola and Kevin Johnson, but he handled those guys like he was supposed to do. He was also very smart to take on Arreola before he got too much mentally going, and Kevin Johnson as well. Even with me, he talked about how he wanted to have a fight. That was kind of the plan. They looked at it like Shannon is on a role, let’s get him now before he starts taking off. But it was all a ploy to be honest with you. It’s kind of like a dug a hole and put grass over it, and they fell right in it. I think that on October 17 they will realize that was the wrong choice, but they called me so that’s the good news. They won’t have anyone to blame but themselves.”
On whether he believes he will be able to land a big shot on Klitschko early in the fight like Corrie Sanders did when he stunned Vitali in round one of their fight:
“Yeah, I think so. I think it’s highly possible, but I can do it all Jenna. I can box. I can punch. I’m a boxer/puncher so the game plan is to win and do whatever it takes. If it’s attack, it’s attack; if it’s boxing, it’s boxing. There is no one way to do it. So I’m looking at just winning the fight. That’s all it is. Whatever I have to do, I’ll do. I’m looking at the great fight between Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns. It was a fight where Ray tried to box and then at one point he realized he had to go inside, and that’s what I will do if I need to.”
On whether the has extra motivation given the fact many fans and members of the media are counting him out in this fight:
“I mean if you look at my career and the times when I’ve won big against Foreman and Liakhovich, both times I was counted out. From day one, when I went to the boxing gym Geoff, because of the fact that I’m asthmatic I’ve always been told that it wasn’t for me. But here I am today, 38 years old and I’m a two-time heavyweight champion of the world. If I listened to people, Geoff, I wouldn’t be on the phone right now to be honest with you.”
On whether he agrees with some members of the media who have said his best chance to beat Klitschko is to go for broke with an early assault:
“Not really. If you go in there looking for a knockout, to be honest with you, it never happens. You have to open the door for that, which means make things happen. Of course I’m going to see where his heart and his chin are at. That’s my plan, and has always been for my fifty-eight fights that I’ve been in. At the same time man, all the experts and the people that comment—I read the comments in the comment section—and all of the so-called experts, they’ve never boxed a day in their lives. The closest they’ve been to gloves is when it snows outside, so I don’t pay attention to what people say. It’s just funny, actually.”
On whether he has been working on his body attack for his fight with Klitschko:
“Yeah, I’ve been working on every attack to be honest with you Geoff. I feel as though I cannot leave anything at home, I can’t leave anything on the road. This is a fight where it’s history, man. I’d rather give it to this guy like nobody else has given it to him. I’d rather be 100% prepared to put my life on the line, because that’s what this means to me. Winning this title will change my legacy and change history, and more importantly, it will not only bring the title back to America but it will prove to all asthmatics around the world that anything is possible. I was a kid that was counted out from day one and they said I’d never succeed in boxing as an asthmatic, and here I am. I’ve been heavyweight champion of the world twice and about to be for the third time. So this is for those people as well.”
On whether he thinks winning the title can help make Americans more enthusiastic about boxing:
“I hope so man. I’m ugly but I’m funny, Geoff. I’d like to get people to come back and see some boxing and watch some very entertaining fights. One thing about me and my fights, other than one or two of them I’m pretty much action-packed. In the Liakhovich fight, I was suffering from an asthma attack from the first round which I still won. It was a great dramatic ending. In the Sultan Ibragimov, I felt that fight was boring. Those were some of my dull performances, but with that being said, I’d like to bring some action to the heavyweight division. I like put it on the line and to jump out there in the first, second, third, and fourth round and try to give it all I have, and I love that if that’s possible. I’m going to do the best I can to entertain the people and that’s my job, is to win. A lot fighters go down as guys who weren’t exciting in the ring. Hopefully, in my next fight and my future fights to come, I’ll be one of those guys who they’ll say put it all on the line and gave it his all.”
His thoughts on going over to Germany to fight for the title:
“Oh I feel great about that. I like Germany. I was over there a few weeks ago for the press conference, and I figure I have more fans than he does over there. I had a great time. I had a lot of laughs. I’m a go anywhere type of person. I’m the type of guy if the terrorists capture me, after a couple of days they’ll let me go. You know what I’m saying. I just have some fun. I had a great time and I look forward to going back, and entertaining, and doing my thing and winning the title. I’m not worried at all. Someone asked me if I was worried about the judging, not at all. Right now I feel like heavyweight boxing lives in Germany and I don’t think with all eyes looking at Germany and looking at the Klitschkos they would do something like rob me or something like that. I’m looking forward to it.”
His views on the upcoming title fight between WBA heavyweight champion David Haye and challenger Audley Harrison:
“David Haye is lucky and fortunate that he fought the sleeping giant and he got through that fight. He should have been fighting Holyfield because Holyfield, I felt, beat Valuev. It’s a great choice for him to fight Audley Harrison in England. That’s a great fight for the UK and for him. No matter what anyone says, that was great thinking. I mean why fight a Holyfield or something now and risk it all, even against an older Holyfield. David Haye is very disrespectful. He talked his way into the title, and unfortunately he won it. He actually put out a video comment about me saying that, calling me Shannon ‘I need my asthma pump’ Briggs. A lot of people didn’t find that funny because there are a lot of asthmatic people around the world that find that to be disrespectful and look up to the fact that I’ve become champion. That being said, David Haye is next up for a great ass-whipping after I take care of Vitali.”
On whether he intends to try and unify all of the titles in the event he wins the WBC belt against Vitali Klitschko:
“Oh, I’m going to win the title Jenna, and that’s the goal. I’m not looking to defend against anyone. I’m looking to fight originally Wladimir and then Gay—I mean not ‘Gay’, excuse me, Haye. Then I’m going to fight and Haye and then Wladimir and that’s it. I’m going to get out and travel the world and have some fun, and then hopefully you guys will hire me to be on the show with you.”
His views on what the heavyweight division needs to do in order to attract more young American stars:
“I think there needs to be some more lucrative reasons. There’s a reason why parents don’t want their kids to become boxers. If you look at heavyweight boxing, it’s not big. Kids are going to play football and basketball and hockey. Parents aren’t pushing their kids to become boxers anymore, unlike other countries where you look at the former Soviet Union, they had a huge boxing program. If you look at the Cuban situation, they had a big boxing program. In other countries, they have tended to send their youth into boxing early and that develops champions. Usually right here in America now, with the NFL, the NBA, and Major League Baseball, and other sports, they have such lucrative contracts that before you even play or whatever, before you make it big, that sends more of the kids and our youth to other sports instead of boxing.”
His views on whether boxing was hurt since the potential mega bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather has not happened:
“I mean it would have been great for the sport for it to happen this fall or this winter, but unfortunately it didn’t happen. I think Pacquiao’s doing the right thing by staying busy and moving along, and not waiting and just doing what he has to do for himself. I think that’s great. That’s what boxing’s all about. A lot of great fights were never made. You guys have to understand that. A lot of great fights in the past were never made, dream fights. That’s why they call them ‘dream fights’. What would have happened if this person fought that person, but that didn’t happen. In years to come, people look back and say ‘what if’. Who would have won? And it would go on forever. Like who would have won between Ali and this person, like Marciano. But we may find out, we may not. I think it’s more likely to happen now with Mayweather having some personal problems outside the ring. It may show him that he needs to focus on the big picture, what he’s great at. He’s a phenomenal fighter, and maybe he’ll realize that and get back in the ring and fight Pacquiao.”
His views on the upcoming fight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito:
“Oh, that’s a great fight. I was just looking at a website, I think it was East Side Boxing, and I was just talking about that fight and I was like, ‘Wow, this is amazing, this is a great fight’. I think that Margarito is going to be in the best shape of his life. He knows that he’s coming off of his suspension, and I don’t even think he’s fully off his suspension and open to fight in every state. I think he’s going to take full advantage of this and he’s going to jump out and make the best of the opportunity.”
On whether he was surprised that he received the opportunity to fight Klitschko for the title:
“Yeah, kind of, sort of, but to be honest with you man, I’ve always been the type of person Geoff that set out and made things happen. I’m a big dreamer, man. I believe if you put something into a dream it can happen. You just got to be steady about it, and that’s what I did. When I retired, and I called myself retired after I walked away from the Sultan Ibragimov loss. I was just pretty much looking to do other things and it hit me that I could beat these guys. I can come back and shock the world as George Foreman did and change my history. So I set out, I called up Greg Cohen and I told him look, I got an idea. Let’s start a company together. We started Empire, and today, Empire is up and running strong. I have some great fighters and some great fights on the horizon aside from my fight, and it was all a dream and it’s happening. I’m surprised, but my whole entire life has been that way. I’m always dreaming about having a home, dreaming about having a wife, dreaming about having kids, and I made it all possible. So I don’t want to sleep on the train to be on the plane and sitting back, not owning the plane but being on the plane and going to many places. I wanted it. I stepped out and got in shape. I was 340 pounds. I’m down now to 248 pounds. I feel like it’s nothing new to me. You put it out there, you make it happen, you work hard towards it, and it will come true. I’m living proof that dreams come true, from homeless to heavyweight champion two times, and I’m about to be champion for the third time. So I’m surprised, but not really. I’m not surprised at all to be honest with you.”
On whether he believes a victory against Klitschko can become his career defining moment:
“100%. It will, but at the same time I’m already satisfied. It’s great for the boxing world, but again man, I hate to beat a dead horse—but as an asthmatic born premature, two pounds at birth. Here I am, 248 pounds today, 6’4” in height. This is a dream come true, man. I mean I already did it. I already did what people dream about, especially with a kid with a disease who never went to school. I didn’t get an education, and here I am today and I’m already fighting for my third heavyweight championship. It will be a shocker for those in boxing, but I think for those who already see and know where I come from and know me, they’re already satisfied and I’m satisfied. I’m just trying to put icing on the cake and a couple of more cherries on the cake, but I’m satisfied. I guess it will be shocking to some. Even for me, I set out again for a goal and I did it, and I’m living proof that if you dream it up and if you believe in yourself, don’t let the naysayers and the negative people shoot you down. A lot of times I read the comments on East Side Boxing, because I am a fan. Unfortunately I read the comments and I see everything from ‘Shannon Briggs is coward’, to this and that, but I’m living proof that a kid who was born premature, two pounds at birth, can come from sleeping on the train, from sleeping in shelters, my mom dying from a drug overdose, my dad dying in prison that if you don’t give up—you too can be something and overcome. So for the naysayers, you have to realize a lot of people are sitting at home in their mother’s basement in front of a computer on the internet bugging. It offends me because boxing is such a hard sport, and I know how hard it is for me with my breathing difficulties and my respiratory problems. I know that it’s tough. So to have people make comments, it’s easy to do that from behind a computer—to be really rude and disrespectful to someone when you don’t work as hard as them. And no matter how hard I work, I still worry and fear about the fact with my asthma, but I’m living proof again if you don’t give up and if you stand strong and you have the courage, you can overcome.”
On whether he has seen any signs of decline in Vitali Klitschko that he believes can become a factor in this fight:
“I see a few things. I feel he’s in phenomenal shape to be out for three or four years and to beat Sam Peter the way he did. Then again I look at Sam Peter, and no disrespect to him as a fighter. He’s a tough guy, but there are a lot of holes in him as an opponent as far as height and his age. People are saying he’s 30 years old. Come on, let’s be real. There are a lot of different things. He’s just not skilled enough. What is he going to do, just walk in and throw punches? He fought the Klitschko family three times and he’s done the same thing, except for the first one with Wladimir where he had him down. I think that was more due to Wladimir’s weak heart and his doubt. If you look at the punches in the first fight when he was down, they were punches that didn’t really land clean, but Wladimir was just so terrified. I think that he was great against Sam Peter. He fought him well and it was superb fighting. You look at Chris Arreola. He took him apart. Here was a kid who was inexperienced and didn’t really have the skill level. He can only fight one way, and that was going in. You look at Kevin Johnson. He’s another kid who basically doesn’t have the punching power and experience to beat Vitali Klitschko with his size, experience, and punching power. You look at Albert Sosnowski and you wonder how he even got the fight. The guy I think he lost to Zuri Lawrence. He went down against Zuri Lawrence who has like one knockout. Zuri’s a great friend of mine, a long time friend of mine and a long time associate, and I like him a lot. But he’s not a puncher and Sosnowski I believe was down three times against him, and Sosnowski took him ten rounds. If you ask me about holes? Yes. If you ask me if I feel good about who he’s fought? Yes. Does it give me some type of push? Yes. Do I look at the fact that he’s running for Mayor of Kiev and do I look at the fact that he looks at my last four opponents? Yes. That all plays into my hands, he may even look at the Ibragimov fight and the Liakhovich fight he might say he would have won them all and looked great. But that’s great because that all plays into my hands. Like I said, I dug a real deep hole, I put grass over it like they used to do in the cartoons, and he walked in and he fell in. They called me. So I’m looking forward to showing them that it was a bad call.”
On what he considers to be his biggest strengths against Vitali Klitschko:
“My size and my punching power and the fact that I’m not afraid of him. I’m pumped up and motivated. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. This is my Powerball Lotto ticket, and I’m going to take full advantage of it. A lot of guys go over there and I think when they hear the roar of the crowd—50,000, 60,000, 70,000 people yelling for Klitschkos. They bring them up on elevators with smoke. I think they get terrified. I’m looking forward to it. That’s my type of energy. I can’t believe it! I love it! I feel like if the fans are against me or fighting in his home town, that’s just a plus for me. I love it. I have no problem with it. I’m not afraid and I’m prepared. Many times I’ve gone into fights unprepared and afraid if I have an asthma attack. Let me tell you something Jenna, you can go without food or water but you can’t go without oxygen. So for me to be doing this and to be at the level I’m doing it at, I’m amazing! I feel like I’m the best fighter who ever lived to some degree. Muhammad Ali didn’t have asthma. Ray Robinson didn’t have asthma. Manny Pacquiao doesn’t have asthma. Floyd Mayweather doesn’t have asthma. Here I am, heavyweight champion of the world two times about to be three—not to give myself a blowjob, but I feel really good about who I am and what I am and with my chances, I feel like I’m going to do it.”
On what he expects to weigh on fight night:
“I’m not sure. Like I said, today I’m 248 pounds. I feel great. I haven’t been under 250 in about nine years or more. I think when I go to the press conference I’m going to weight on the scale fully nude—fully nude and letting them see it all, letting it all hang out. They’re going to be like, wow, I’m in phenomenal shape. They’ll have twenty-four hours to pull out because I’m going to be in phenomenal shape. Weight won’t be an issue.”
His official prediction on his upcoming fight against Vitali Klitschko:
“I’m going to be heavyweight champion of the world. Plan A is to knock him out in the first round, plan B is to knock him out in the second, plan C is to knock him out in the third, and if I don’t knock him out at all I plan on beating him every round and that’s my goal.”
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For those interested in listening to the Shannon Briggs interview in its entirety, it begins approximately twenty-eight minutes into the program.
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