Paul Briggs

Infobox_Boxer


name = Paul Briggs
nationality = Flagicon|AUS Australian
realname = Paul Briggs
nickname = Hurricane
weight = Light Heavyweight
birth_date = Birth date and age|1975|8|13|mf=y
birth_place = Christchurch, New Zealand
home = Sydney, New South Wales
reach = 71"
height = 5′ 11½″
style = Orthodox
total = 29
wins = 26
KO = 18
losses = 3
draws = 0
no contests = 0

Paul Briggs (born August 13, 1975 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a former Australian boxer. He was a highly ranked contender in the light heavyweight division.

"Hurricane" Briggs' career began with kick boxing at a young age, turning professional by the age of 15. By the age of 17, Briggs was accomplished enough to challenge Thai kick boxing great Jom Hod Sor Chid Lata for the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) title. Briggs spent the next two years training in Thailand with the very man who defeated him. This training propelled Briggs to the WKA World Championship.

Briggs soon tired of international kickboxing competition, having accomplished about all there is to accomplish. He quit competing and began working as a DJ.

In November 1999, Paul Briggs began boxing. Over the course of 5 years, Briggs compiled a 23-1 (17 KO's) record, leading to a WBC #1 rating and a WBC Light Heavyweight World Championship fight against Tomasz Adamek, who at the time, had 28 wins and no losses.

First fight with Adamek

On May 21, 2005 in Chicago Briggs lost to Adamek in a majority decision. The fight was described by some as one of the most brutal in recent memory, as Briggs suffered a large cut above his left eye early in the fight and Adamek bled profusely from his nose for much of the fight, as well. [cite web|url=http://www.aussiebox.com.au/abxnews.html#bri2|title=Adamek Upsets Briggs to Claim WBC 175 lb Belt!|work=Aussiebox|accessdate=2007-03-29] Adamek tended to be the aggressor, though Briggs displayed an excellent defence as well as flashes of power that, at times, staggered Adamek. Both fighters won subsequent tune-up fights and are contracted to re-match by mid-2006.

Rematch with Adamek

The rematch took place on the 6th of October. Adamek came in a heavy favourite. Briggs was coming in with a new trainer, the legendary Johnny Lewis. The rematch would be the same as the first fight, action packed and very entertaining. Briggs seemed to be getting outboxed in the first round until he unleashed a heavy left hook to Adamek's jaw which dropped the champion. Adamek managed to get up and continue and survived the round. Again Briggs was cut in the second round. It appeared to be from a punch and it also appeared to be in a bad spot: over his left eye. Johnny Lewis managed to stop the bleeding for most of the fight and the cut was not a major factor. Briggs showed more aggression this time around and made it a very close fight. A case could have been made for either fighter winning. But in the end it came down to another majority decision which Adamek won yet again. [cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2617087|title=Undefeated Adamek beats Briggs, retains WBC title|work=ESPN|accessdate=2007-03-29] Many who watched the fight have stated although Adamek seemed to be the busier of the two, his punches were in-effective and landed mostly on the arms and gloves of Briggs.

After Adamek

After the 2nd loss to Adamek, Briggs decided against a 3rd rematch, stating he wanted to go for new opponents:

I'm not hanging them up. I can fight and I am exciting to watch. Jim Lampley and lots over people are telling me it was the best combined 24 rounds they have ever seen. There are some good things for me over here now (America). I am building a great fan base now, even though I am not winning.

After the fight, Don King said he supported Briggs and wanted to see him back.

Retirement

After the Adamek fight, Briggs had one more fight, winning a 12 round UD over South African Rupert van Aswegen. Briggs injured his ankle one day before the bout, and fought what he called the worst performance of his career. He was to continue fighting but when back in training, starting having serious problems. He had scans done and it was revealed he had problems with his nervous system. Briggs was thought to have gotten past his problems, and relocated back to the Gold Coast where he began working with a new trainer. He also revealed he was moving down to the super-middleweight division and challenged fellow Australian Anthony Mundine to a fight. A couple of weeks into training however Briggs again had problems, and on the advice of his new trainer, retired from the sport. Briggs is currently located on the Gold Coast, and frequently commentates boxing matches on Fox Sports and Mainevent.

Autobiography

During the lead up to the first Adamek fight, Briggs authored an autobiography entitled [http://paulbriggs.net/Bio.aspx 'Heart, Soul, Fire'] detailing his rise to success as an international kick boxer, his descent into organised crime, drugs and violence, and ultimately his rise back to respectability and dominance in international boxing.

External links

* [http://paulbriggs.net/ paulbriggs.net] — "Official website"

References