Ringside with Keith Terceira
While the Rahman-Toney decision may have muddied the heavyweight waters even further for many fight fans it was a saving grace for the newly crowned USBA, NABO, NABA, and NABF Champion Shannon Briggs. While working the Heavyweight Slugout 2 fight card last night in Fort Smith as an inspector for the revitalized Arkansas Athletic Commission, I watched a transformation take place in Shannon Briggs camp and in Briggs himself as reports came in on the Rahman - Toney bout.
As NABF officials instructed Dicky Ryan (56-8) in the hallway, Briggs stepped from his dressing room and stared intently at Ryan demonstrating his focus and preparedness for the pending bout.
What I was to learn later while observing and signing off on Briggs’ wraps was that there was an underlying reason for Shannon’s intensity.
Earlier as I moved from Rob Calloway’s dressing room to Lou Savarese’s the buzz in the locker rooms was that Toney had taken the edge in the first four rounds or so. Ryan calmly sat back seemingly not interested and when I mentioned to the Briggs’ camp what the reports coming in were they quickly disappeared to inform Briggs.
Just prior to heavyweight J.D. Chapman’s twenty-first victory and his nineteenth knockout Briggs began wrapping and as I stood there observing I took the opportunity while in the dressing room to phone my wife (Ghislaine) knowing Arkansas’ biggest fight fan would be watching the Atlantic City show.
As I spoke with her Briggs immediately changed focus and we put my wife on speaker phone. To her credit as one of Shannon’s camp stated she did a better commentary than the HBO crew.
Worry was evident in the room when Toney landed well in the championship rounds and as I signed off on the first hand wrap, Briggs disclosed that should Rahman retain the title he had been promised by Bob Arum that he would be next for Hasim.
As the tape was applied to his left, my wife reported that the fight had ended and both Rahman and Toney were in the ring with hands raised, Gigi passed on Lederman’s take on the title fight and Steward’s analysis. As she spoke Briggs leaned his head towards me and I lowered the phone to his ear. At this point I was demoted to a human hands free device as Briggs and Gigi
intently discussed what was occurring in the ring. As the first scorecard was announced Briggs smiled hugely, then the smile faded a bit as the first 114-114 judgment was announced.
“What was that guy watching” I heard my wife say and Shannon grinned, then the next draw verdict came and everyone in the dressing room burst out in smiles as the realization sank in that Rahman had retained the WBC title.
Quickly a thundercloud gathered and passed across “The Cannons” broad face and the rain that was falling outside was a sunny spring day compared to the torrential storm that seemed to be brewing in the mind of Briggs.
Clearly it was time to take care of business and now at least in Shannon’s mind there was much more at stake than the titles at hand.
As we gloved him up and I applied tape around his laces he leaned over and told me
“Tell your wife I said thanks, she did good, I appreciate it”
Finished I moved to Dick Ryan’s room and did not see Shannon again until I was ringside at Ryan’s corner.
Heavyweight Rob Calloway and Fred Burns worked Dicky’s corner last night and as the first round began it was clear that it was going to be a short night for him, Brigg’s was intense and to Ryan’s credit he is still at this stage of his career as tough as nails, but as Shannon began working the body Ryan began looking over to Burns and Calloway every chance he could and to me it was as if he was searching for help.
Things began to get rough as both boxers landed low and behind the head, Referee Steve Thomason sitting beside me agreed that this NABF official in the ring was either green or had lost control of the match early.
Ryan hung strong but was fading fast and in this writers opinion round three should have been his last but the referee wasn’t seeing what we were seeing at ringside, constantly out of position and having problems handling the action as the round ended.
In round four Ryan caught Briggs with a looping right hand that brought the bigger man to action. The first three rounds Briggs had been content to walk down his opponent and pick his shots with great care, now he was letting his hands go.
A right hook to the body backed Ryan to the corner and once again Dicky looked over to us and as his back hit the corner pad Briggs hit him with a thunderous right that crumpled Ryan and silence shook the building.
The fight was waved off a spit second later, Burns and Calloway jumped ringside and I moved to the neutral corner where the fighter sat with his head pitched back on the second rope, a vacant stare at the ceiling and I thought “please God let him be ok“, that was how bad the knockout had appeared.
I instructed Burns to loosen Ryan’s shoes for better circulation but Fred was intent on protesting to the referee in obvious worry as the doctor began checking for eye responses.
A full fifteen to twenty seconds later Dickie came around and tried to rise, Briggs like any boxer would stood behind the officials working on Ryan with concern asking if things were alright.
Ryan came to and was placed on a stool, and cheers broke out in the still crowded arena, none had yet to break for the door to beat the traffic.
After the show ended and the lights came up, kids and adults alike began filling the ring with Shannon seeking a signature and for the second time last night I saw Shannon the man instead of Shannon “the Cannon”.
“ Is Ryan ok,” he asked
“ He seems fine, he‘s walking back to the dressing with Burns ” I reported
A huge smile broke out, no ego present, no “fighter‘s face“ , content with the pushing crowd of admiring fans, now that he knew things seemed perfect, at least for that minute, that night, at that point of his career.
KTerceira@boxingscene.com
