Former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs (60-6-1, 53 KOs) is preparing for a ring return in 2018.

The 46 year old veteran has been out of the ring since May of 2016, when he picked up a first round knockout of Emilio Zarate at the O2 Arena in London. That fight was set as a pre-fight clash to make fall showdown with David Haye. That fight never happened as Haye, who had promised to fight Briggs, decided to go in another direction.

But on May 21, it was reported that Briggs had failed a drug test. He tested positive for 'dramatically increased levels of testosterone'. It was revealed that Briggs' collected sample had almost 8 times the regular amount of testosterone for a man of his age and weight.

The fight with Oquendo was called off, and on July 20 Briggs was suspended for six months by the WBA.

As the year comes to a close, Briggs wants to face former unified heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who is also training for a planned comeback next year. He parted with uncle and head trainer Peter Fury and hired a new coach, and appears to be training on a daily basis to shave off the excess weight.

But Briggs has his doubts about Fury's comeback. He believes the boxer is just making the rounds to gain attention and has no intention of coming back to the ring. 

"Fury isn't to be talked about, Fury is nothing. Fury is fat, out of shape. He's lost a little bit of weight - I've seen a before and after about 30 days ago - he's trying but I think he's BSing," Briggs told IFL TV.

"I don't think he's really going to fight, what he's doing now is getting a little bit of attention, he'll go into a crying fit and say this and that. He'll go into a rant and lose it all again.

"If you want to fight, let's go champ. Play no more games, let's stop making videos, send the contract and I'll fight wherever you want to fight at: Manchester, London, Hackney, Birmingham, Liverpool. I'll go anywhere champ, you name it. In Harrods. We'll fight in Harrods, just look at him."