BRIGGS KEEPS KNOCKIN... ‘EM OUT!
By Laz Izada

Fort Smith, AR (Insideboxing.com, March 19, 2006) - The action took place this past Saturday night at Stacy Goodson’s “Heavyweight Slug-Out 2” in the main event.

Reborn, reestablished, KO artist, heavyweight top 10 contender, WBC #8, WBO #8, IBF #10, Shannon Briggs, 46-4-1(40 KO’s) scored his 10th KO in a row over veteran Dicky Ryan, 55-9 (44 KO’s). Briggs, who always comes in “looking for a knockout“, knocked Ryan down in the 2nd round with a strong left hook, and then took him down for good at 2:37 of the 4th round with a powerful right hand shot. Ryan was laid out on the canvas for a scary 10 minutes.

The impressive knockout was the 40th of Briggs career and was for the major ranking organizations North American titles. The WBA’s NABA, and the WBO’s NABO titles. The bout was also for a NABF Heavyweight eliminator making Briggs eligible to take on the winner of the April 28th showdown between Samuel Peter, 25-1(21 KO’s), and 7 foot tall Julius Long, 14-7 (12 KO’s). Briggs has been after Peter since last year and might finally get his shot against him. Peter is the only top 10 ranked contender willing to take on Briggs, for the time being. Before that bout takes place, Scott Hirsh, Briggs’ energetic manager, tells me that he will be taking on Chris Koval, 23-2 (18 KO’s), for the vacant USBA North American Heavyweight title. Sometime in May, Briggs will also be defending his new belts. If all goes well and according to plan, I believe that Briggs and Peter should be settling their score by late summer or early fall.

If Peter comes in to fight aggressively like he did in last years loss to Wladimir Klitschko, it should make a very exciting fight, not the snoozer of Toney vs. Raham that fans witnessed this past weekend.

Briggs wants his fans and all boxing fans to know that he isn’t playing around and that he “puts it on the line every time out, that he is looking for a knockout every time out, and that is what fight fans are looking for.”

How true that is, especially knockout excitement in the heavyweight division. All fight fans remember Tyson’s 19 KO’s in a row. Briggs now has 10 in a row, but unfortunately he’s not getting the TV coverage and all of the notoriety that he should be getting. Hopefully all that will soon change. Briggs’ new milestone of 40 KO’s puts him in good company, here is the rundown.

KO’s
Foreman 68

Shavers 67

Holmes 44

Tyson 44

D. Ryan 44

Briggs 40

W. Klitschko 40

Tua 38

Ali 37

V. Klitschko 34
Raham 33

Lewis 32

Brewster 29

According to this KO rundown, a Briggs, W. Klitschko, or Brewester match up would be intriguing. Right now Briggs, the Comeback Fighter of the Year for 2005, is taking one fight and one KO at a time. Hirsh plans to keep him busy. Let’s just hope that top 10 contenders and title holders don’t run from him and “put things on the line”. Fight fans deserve, and the heavyweight division desperately needs 2 heavyweights slugging it out looking for a knockout. We have one in Shannon Briggs, let’s see which other heavyweight steps up to the plate.