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When Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs enters the ring November 4th to vie for a version of the heavyweight title against Sergei Liakhovich, he will carry with him the baggage not only of his 34 years or his 52 fights, but just as importantly lots of thoughts of what might have been.
Briggs, 47-4-1 (41 KOs), started his career as a trim 20 year-old with lightning fast hands and a end-it-right-away style that made him an appealing draw. Combined with obvious physical attributed, Briggs was (an is) a colorful and interesting speaker.
As he rose through the inevitable club fights many took notice of his talents on many levels. His athleticism had many talking of much bigger and better things.
Unfortunately, his rise through the club circuit was not a progressive one. Today we can browse his early record and find many opponents he faced who possessed not mediocre records but losing records. According to Boxrec.com it wasn’t until his 16th fight that he met an opponent with a winning slate.
While almost every rising star has a record sprinkled with such opposition, it was apparent when Briggs faced the then-15-0-2 Darroll Wilson that he had not developed skills sufficient to extract himself from trouble. The three-round stoppage loss to Wilson served as a notification that to achieve truly world-class status, something had to change. [details]
Briggs, 47-4-1 (41 KOs), started his career as a trim 20 year-old with lightning fast hands and a end-it-right-away style that made him an appealing draw. Combined with obvious physical attributed, Briggs was (an is) a colorful and interesting speaker.
As he rose through the inevitable club fights many took notice of his talents on many levels. His athleticism had many talking of much bigger and better things.
Unfortunately, his rise through the club circuit was not a progressive one. Today we can browse his early record and find many opponents he faced who possessed not mediocre records but losing records. According to Boxrec.com it wasn’t until his 16th fight that he met an opponent with a winning slate.
While almost every rising star has a record sprinkled with such opposition, it was apparent when Briggs faced the then-15-0-2 Darroll Wilson that he had not developed skills sufficient to extract himself from trouble. The three-round stoppage loss to Wilson served as a notification that to achieve truly world-class status, something had to change. [details]