Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1992 and 2016. He held the lineal heavyweight title from 1997 to 1998, and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title from 2006 to 2007. Nicknamed "the Cannon", Briggs was known for his formidable punching power and aggression, possessing an 88.3% knockout-to-win rate with 37 knockout wins in the first round.
Briggs was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. For a period in his childhood he was homeless. In 1983, when Briggs was 12, he saw Mike Tyson in Bristol Park, Brooklyn, New York. Briggs' friends called out, "Here comes Mike." Briggs said he was too scared to run and that seeing Tyson that day "changed his life." At age 17, Briggs began training at Jimmy O'Pharrow's Starrett City Boxing Club in Brooklyn, NY. He was diagnosed with asthma as a child. Briggs' mother died in Brownsville due to a heroin overdose on December 4, 1996, Briggs' 25th birthday.
Coached by James O'Farrell, Briggs got his start at the Starrett City Boxing Club. Briggs competed mainly in heavyweight division (201 lbs,) he became New York City Golden Gloves champion, New York State Champion, National P.A.L. Champion and finished second at the Pan American Games in 1991, stepping into the finals on several byes, thus gaining a silver medal already without a single fight, though losing the final to Félix Savón. In 1992 he became the United States Amateur Champion. Along with two national titles in heavyweight was the winner of the 1991 Daily News Golden Gloves superheavyweight title. By December 1991 he was ranked third nationally in his class.
As an amateur he sparred with Phil Jackson, who was a pro at that time, preparing to fight Razor Ruddock. Brigg's lawyer and adviser (equivalent of pro's manager) at that time was Mike Marley, the ex-Post boxing writer. Marley later managed Briggs as a professional.
Briggs aimed to get a shot at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, but quit from the national olympic trials over a hand injury.
Briggs began his career in 1992 and was undefeated in his first 25 fights, and was trained by Teddy Atlas. He suffered his first loss when he was knocked out in three rounds 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.
Briggs fought against lineal champion George Foreman on November 22, 1997, at the Trump Taj Majal Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Coming into the fight, Briggs sported a 29–1 record with 24 of his wins coming by way of knockout; collectively, he fought a total of 86 rounds. However, despite his record, his one loss had been a third-round knockout against Darroll "Doin' Damage" Wilson on HBO the previous year which halted his momentum and hurt his status as one of the premier up-and-coming heavyweights. However, realizing that a win over Foreman would get him back into contention, Briggs vowed to be ready for the fight stating that he was "confident that I can go in and fight for 12 rounds and win a decision."
After capturing the WBA and IBF titles from Michael Moorer late in 1994, George Foreman forfeited both titles but retained the lineal championship and successfully defended that crown (as well as the lowly regarded WBU heavyweight title) against then-undefeated prospects Crawford Grimsley and Lou Savarese. Following his win over Savarese, Foreman fought Briggs.
The fight was controversial as Briggs ultimately picked up the victory by way of majority decision. Through the course of the fight, Foreman landed more punches and had a higher percentage of his punches land than Briggs. Foreman landed 284 of his 488 punches for a 58% success rate while Briggs landed 45% of his punches, going 223 for 494. Foreman made $5 million, whilst Briggs received a $400,000 purse.
Foreman spent much of the fight as the aggressor while Briggs spent a lot of the fight retreating. In the later rounds Foreman's power punches seemed to take a toll on the younger Briggs, as he began slowing down and all but abandoned his tactic of moving away from Foreman and was hit from some heavy shots as a result. In the 12th and final round, Foreman tried hard for a knockout victory and was able to break Briggs' nose but was unable to score a knockdown. As a result, the result went to the judge's scorecards.
One judge scored the fight a draw at 114–114, while the other two had the fight scored 116–112 and 117–113 in favor of Briggs, giving him both the majority decision win and the lineal heavyweight title.
After Lennox Lewis successfully defended his WBC title in a dominating first-round knockout victory over Andrew Golota, he agreed to defend his title against the winner between Briggs-Foreman in the elimination bout organized by the WBC to determine who would become Lewis' next opponent. Though Foreman's promoters protested the result and Lewis instead turned his attention to a potential unification match with Evander Holyfield, Lewis ultimately agreed to defend his WBC championship against lineal champion Briggs in a fight billed as March Badness.
In the fifth round, Lewis knocked Briggs down for the third time with a powerful right hook at 1:09 into the round. Briggs lay flat on his back for five seconds but got back up at the count of eight and continued with the fight. After Briggs collapsed to the mat following a missed left hook, referee Frank Cappuccino stopped the fight and awarded Lewis the victory by technical knockout. Lewis earned $4 million compared to Briggs $1 million. In 2015, Lewis stated that Briggs had the fastest hands and best punching power of any opponent he ever faced.
After the loss to Lennox Lewis, Briggs spent seven years fighting against low ranked opponents. He scored 17 wins (all by knockout); two losses (one by majority, one by unanimous decision); and a majority draw versus Frans Botha on 7 August 1999 in Etess Arena, Atlantic City. Notable wins were against Ray Mercer, Brian Scott, Luciano Zolyone, Dicky Ryan and Chris Koval.
Briggs won the WBO heavyweight 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 106–103, 106–103, and 105–104. 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. If the referee had allowed the fight to continue after the second knockdown and Liakhovich had come back into the ring within 20 seconds, it would have resulted in a draw. The official time was 2:59.
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 "aspiration pneumonia." The fight was rescheduled fifty days later in Atlantic City on June 2, 2007, with Briggs losing in a unanimous decision 117–111, 119–109, and 115–113. After winning the first round, Briggs slowed down and did not have the aggressiveness, accuracy or stamina to compete with Ibragimov. At 273 pounds, Briggs was as heavy as he had been in his career. Briggs entered having won 12 consecutive fights prior to this and announced his retirement immediately following the bout.
Briggs returned in 2009 and scored his twenty-ninth first-round knockout against Marcus McGee. After the bout, Briggs tested positive for a banned substance, and was suspended. The result of the bout was changed to 'No Contest'. Briggs manager Ivalyo Gotzev, stated Briggs was on medication to control his asthma. "He's not a steroid user or a drug user. We're consulting with his physicians and seeing how to make the proper adjustments to make sure this doesn't happen again." The New York State Athletic Commission suspended Briggs for 90 days. Briggs fought three times in 2010 before fighting Vitali Klitschko. He knocked out Rafael Pedro, Dominique Alexander and Rob Calloway all inside the first round of their respective fights.