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What If?
What if Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs had knocked out Lennox Lewis in their championship fight in 1998?
At that point in his career, Briggs was 30-1 with a win over George Foreman. Could that win have propelled Briggs to be considered one of the best heavies of his generation? What if he had finished the job against Francois Botha? Would wins over Botha, Lewis and Foreman have made Briggs a candidate for Canastota?
Shannon Briggs knows what it sounds like when opportunity knocks. But instead of answering the door, he draws the curtains and dims the lights like that jerk in your neighborhood did every Halloween so he didn’t have to hand out candy.
Despite the loss to Lewis, Briggs still had plenty of chances to assert himself as one of the best big men of the 90’s and 00’s. Sadly for Briggs and his fans, he has almost always come up short when the spotlight is on him.
Two fights after losing to Lewis, Briggs had another shot at an elite heavyweight in Francois Botha. Once again, Briggs couldn’t close the deal; after flooring Botha in the eighth round, he settled for a draw.
To make matters worse, Briggs has tallied losses against less than stellar opposition. Two fights after the Botha match, Briggs suffered perhaps the worst loss of his career. Sedreck Fields got the better of Briggs, winning an eight round majority decision.
All you need to know about Sedreck Fields is that in his career, which includes 55 fights, his longest winning streak is four bouts, while his longest losing streak is seven.
Losses to Darroll Wilson, Jameel McCline and now Sultan Ibragimov define a career that appeared destined for greatness but materialized into mediocrity; a long list of should haves, but didn’t.
The Ibragimov loss comes after Briggs finally appeared ready to challenge for heavyweight supremacy. He had just collected the WBO belt (one of the more recognized alphabet trinkets) by scoring a dramatic KO win over Serguei Lyakhovich.
The heavy handed Briggs always has to be given a puncher’s chance with anyone he steps in the ring with, but the manner in which he was defeated by Ibragimov calls into question whether he has enough left to even contend for a title, much less thrive as a champion.
Briggs looked lethargic and at times he appeared unable to apply any pressure on his much smaller opponent. He continually ate counters and was thoroughly out boxed for the majority of the fight.
The final chapter of Brigg’s career hasn’t gotten off to the start that he may have hoped for. There is still time for a good victory or two against a quality foe, wins that may lend more credibility to an already solid career, but the clock is ticking and it’s only a matter of time before Briggs’s dreadlocks turn grey and his well of power runs dry.
More bad news for American heavyweight fans whose hopes, while few, rested on Briggs’ broad shoulders and probably still do. With the exception of promising young heavies like Eddie Chambers, the division is still fairly bare in the States, making Briggs by default the best chance to break up the current European stronghold on the division.
The question now is where does Briggs go from here?
Once a 27 year old who rumbled with Lennox Lewis for five rounds, Briggs is now a 36 year old power puncher whose time as a major player has begun to pass him by and without a piece of the title, getting another belt holder to give him an opportunity is no given.
