Shannon Briggs

Infobox_Boxer


name= Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs
realname= Shannon Briggs
nationality= Flagicon|USA American
nickname= "The Cannon"
weight= Heavyweight
birth_date= birth date and age|1971|12|4
birth_place= Brooklyn, NY, U.S.
death_date=
home=
death_place=
style= Orthodox
total= 54
wins= 48
KO= 42
losses= 5
draws= 1
no contests= 0

Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs (born December 4, 1971, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American heavyweight boxer and actor.

Early life

Raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Briggs was homeless for a period in his childhood. Eventually he went on to live with an aunt in East New York, Brooklyn. At age 17, Briggs began training at Jimmy Farrow's Starrett City Gym.

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 Felix Savon. 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. He suffered his first loss when he was knocked out 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.

Following the loss, Briggs defeated George Foreman for the lineal world heavyweight championship and then challenged Lennox Lewis for the WBC heavyweight title. In their 1998 fight, Briggs had Lewis in trouble early but was knocked down three times and lost by TKO.

He later drew with Francois Botha and lost a decision to clubfighter Sedreck Fields, considered a major upset. [http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=9671&more=1] He also was outpointed by contender Jameel McCline but defeated former WBO heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist Ray Mercer in 2005.

Shannon won the WBO heavyweight championship 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. [http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:1128945]

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.

Briggs is promoted by Don King Productions and self managed.

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 2 with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, Transporter 2, and The Wackness. He has also been ringside for ESPN commentating on Friday Fight Nights alongside Joe Tessatore when Teddy Atlas has been away either covering the Olympic Games or on another assignments.

References

External links

* [http://boxing.about.com/od/records/a/briggs.htm Boxing record]