By Edward Chaykovsky
Heavyweight contender Antonio Tarver sees no reason to even consider a fight with former WBO kingpin Shannon Briggs.
Briggs fights Micheal Marrone on September 5th at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida.
The 43-year-old Briggs has been calling out a string of fighters in the last two years, including Tarver. Briggs made headlines with his public pursuits of heavyweight ruler Wladimir Klitschko.
Since coming back in March of 2014, Briggs has won seven straight fights but the level of opposition has been extremely soft. Last June Briggs went the full twelve round distance with Raphael Love, who got knocked out in his next three out of five fights.
Tarver seen Briggs' winning streak as a joke, based on the opposition that he's facing.
"Shannon Briggs is gonna definitely win his next fight. Are you kidding me? He’s not fighting no one. I’m gonna let Shannon Briggs do what he wants to do but he ain’t ready to step up to the plate and fight any significant fight. He’s not fighting on TV, he’s in the dark, so he’s fighting guys like that. It’s laughable, so I’m not even gonna give him any airplay," Tarver told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
"It’s a good function he’s doing with all the heavyweight champions coming to town and they’re celebrating, that’s a good deal. All the champions are gonna be in one spot, that’s gonna be phenomenal, but other than that, come on. I’m not giving Shannon no airplay on my interviews because he doesn’t even deserve that. He’s gonna win his next fight — he’s probably gonna win the rest of them until he fights somebody who knows how to fight. I’m trying to go for the big fish, it’s not a circus and I’m not a clown."