Experts: Briggs Could Pull Upset!

[Grub Smith.]

Vitali ate bombs from Lewis, the uppercut in particular was a shot that would have knocked out most other fighters, i think there may be confusion with stamina and chin here, but his chin was solid.

[scap]

Shannon Briggs will have to make something happen in this fight immediately!

Briggs-iff he sits at bay for a few rounds will get pulvarized and he does not have the chin to sit in there and take serious punishment looking for his opening ala Lamon Brewster.

Like I have said before Briggs looks great against C level fighters....he looks down right dominant but when he takes his steps up in class he always looks absolutely ordinary...plus he is getting up there in age.

Briggs better get in there early and hope to inflict some damage on Wlad otherwise everyone should pop in the tape of Briggs vs. McCline and expect more of the same.

[Phantasm]

I have been telling my friends that this might be an upset since I first heard the fight was on. Either way, I'm rooting for Briggs...gotta rep my old BK Boys!

[Nautilus]

If Wlad is scared of Briggs, he will easily win. I also think Emanuel tells the right things to Wlad -- that Briggs could be quite dangerous.

Wlad only lost to opponents who he thought were not dangerous.

[Nautilus]

I think Wlad will just destroy Briggs.

[guru]

briggs will try to bumrush wlad, but that strategy has never worked, at least not quickly... it took brewster 5 rounds and he had to take an enormous amount of punishment.. briggs wont be able to do the same... briggs doenst have the stamina for late round KO's and he cant take alot of punishment...

still briggs has a better chance of beating wlad than toney, brock or IMO, rahman...

[K-DOGG]

Judging by his comments during the Ike Quartey/Vernon Forrest fight last Saturday, HBO color man Larry Merchant doesn't think much of Shannon Briggs’ chances against Wladimir Klitschko in their proposed showdown for the IBF Heavyweight Championship (scheduled for November 11 in New York City).



Some of the top trainers in boxing say they disagree. A quick sampling of ten of the sport’s best reveals that most give Briggs a surprisingly good chance at springing the upset.



Roger Bloodworth (David Tua, Robbie Peden, etc.)

Which Briggs and which Klitschko? I’m not being facetious or political. I’m saying that since Klitschko got knocked out, he hasn’t shown a willingness to fight. He’s shown a propensity for boxing, which is smart on Emanuel’s part. He did a good job against Samuel Peter. If he’s able to keep Briggs on the outside, he’ll outbox him. But if he can’t, then Briggs has a good chance of knocking him out. I don’t think his chin is very good at all, although he said he was "drugged," (in his KO loss to Brewster). I think he didn’t realize how much leather he was taking that night. He overdosed on it (laughs).



Eddie Mustapha Muhammad (Johnny Tapia, Iran Barkley, James Toney)

Basically, Shannon is big and strong. Shannon would have to get his defense together, and he has a great trainer to get his defense together. What he has to do is put pressure on Klitschko, A LOT of pressure. Shannon can punch. He has to put his hands up, chin down and **** Klitschko to the body and on his arms and make him fight. Move his head side to side and keep that pressure on him. Dig to the body and arms and muscles. He can beat Klitschko. We all know he doesn’t have the biggest heart in the word. If you quit once, you’ll quit again. This is the fight game. There are no time outs. The key factor is Brownsville. Mike Tyson, Rid**** Bowe, myself, and Shannon are all from Brownsville. And we all know how it feels to have something and then not have it anymore and want to get it back. We have an old saying from our neighborhood: somebody asks where you from, you say ‘Brownsville. Never ran, never will.’



Stacy McKinley (Mike Tyson, Ricardo Mayorga)

The way I see it, this is the first time in a long time you have two big men with so much similarity. They’re both big with good jabs and devastating right hands. As far as skills and tech, they’re equally matched. I think this particular fight will come down to the corners. The corners will win or lose the fight and I have to go with Emanuel Steward (Klitschko’s trainer) in that department. If Shannon wants it bad enough, he stands a good chance but like I said, it’ll probably come down to who has the better corner and I think Emanuel is one of the best.



Floyd Mayweather Sr. (Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr.)

To be honest, I think Briggs got a very good chance, depending on what Briggs comes in. If Briggs comes in to fight the man; Klitschko is a scared fighter anyway. I don’t think either Klitschko brother takes a great punch. Briggs has a very good chance. The whole thing depends on which Shannon Briggs comes in. If he comes with heart and determination to win, those Klitschko guys will fold. I think he has a chance. I won’t say he’ll win, but there’s a good chance.



Mathew Drayton (Jameel McCline)

If Shannon comes in, in shape and don’t go trying to put on weight to be strong, I think he’ll do alright. He can punch. It’s going to be a good fight. The only thing Shannon has to do is go in, in shape. If he does, he can come out a winner. If he trains half-ass and is slow, Klitschko may take him out. Other than that, Shannon Briggs has a good chance of wining this fight, but he has to be in shape and have his weight right and take the right precautions.



Miguel Diaz (Miguel Cotto, many others)

It will be very interesting because Klitschko is one of the top heavyweights and the other kid is a little bit off boxing for a while, but he’s on a good streak. I saw him (Briggs) in Puerto Rico and he almost killed the guy. I saw him at the Warriors show recently and he looked like he’s in great spirits. It’s exactly what he needs; he’s an emotional fighter. I worked for him one time and it was the only time I went to the dressing room and the fighter was listening to classical music. Chopin! Right now he’s on a good streak and I think it will be interesting. He’s got a lot of ability and I understand he’s with good people now too. I think this is his last chance, so that’s why he’ll make the fight. Klitschko is a good fighter, but he’s nothing you can’t beat. You saw him fight against Samuel Peter, who knocked him down. He’s got his faults. He’s got a lot of ability too but he’s got his faults. It will be very interesting. I can’t predict who will win. It’s 50/50.



Yoel Judah (Zab Judah)

Shannon Briggs is a good fighter and he has come back with some good wins. You have to give the edge to Klitschko but these are heavyweights, man. One punch can end it. I think Briggs has a real chance to win. If he comes in with his hard right hand and a “do or die” attitude, he has the power, hand speed and experience to upset Klitschko. If he doesn’t come in with that kind of an attitude, Klitschko will take him out.



Jimmy Glenn (worked with Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, etc.) If Briggs gets in good shape, he can win the fight. Briggs is a good fighter. I predict Briggs by knockout.



Marshall Kauffman (Kermit Cintron, Julian Letterlough, Travis Kauffman)

I like Klitschko. I think if Briggs has any chance, it’ll be early, in the first three rounds. After that, I could see Klitschko dominating. I think everybody that is a Klitschko fan will be on the edge of their seats for the first three rounds because Brigs is a heck of a puncher and very aggressive but his stamina has always been an issue. But for the first three to four rounds, you’ll be on the edge of your seats if you’re a Klitschko fan.



Pat Burns (Jermain Taylor)

It’s real simple. I’ve known Shannon for a long time and I’ve seen him at 330 lbs and at 240 lbs and if he’s 250-ish, he’s a very competitive tough, tough guy that is quite capable of winning. If he comes in heavy, he’ll be good for four rounds and that’s it. It’s all up to Shannon. He has an enormous amount of talent. It’s all about weight. If he’s not carrying a piano on his back, he’s competitive. If he is too heavy, he won’t be in a very good situation he wills struggle, that my feeling. I’ve always wanted to work with Shannon because you can just see he has all the gifts, but maybe the reason I never have is that I’m not one of the “yes” men he’s always surrounded himself with.

In general, I agree with Merchant.

However, I understand where these "experts" are coming from. Shannon Briggs was a highly touted prospect at one time because he had the skills. Where Shannon was found lacking was in the "sterner stuff" department....until he went after Lewis when he was riding high in confidence from his lucky decision over Foreman. He seemed to "grow up" a little in the final few rounds with Foreman; and he carried that confidence over into the Lewis fight.

Here's the problem though, that was YEARS ago. Since the loss to Lewis, he has been inconsistant and lost every remotely important match he's taken.

Now, that being said, he could be looking for redemption in this fight and come out determined; but I really don't see it making that much of a difference. In the end, I think we're going to see an abbriviated version of Lewis-Mercer in that Briggs will come out trying his best; but he will end up making Wladimir show us his best as Klitschko will find his "balls" in this fight (not to insinuate he doesn't have any...you know what I mean). Briggs will make Wladimir dig deeper than he's had to in a while; and Klitschko will come through.


Klitschko by 7th round TKO.

[Kid Achilles]

Who was gonna KO him, Rahman? Rahman doesn't hit nearly as hard as Lewis or Sanders.

Here, here are some big punchers Vital faced who all hit at least on the level of Rahman.

Danny Williams
Corrie Sanders
Kirk Johnson (the weakest hitter on this list but he still hit about as hard as Rahman IMO)
Lennox Lewis
Ross Puritty
Herbie Hide

These guys could all **** and Vitali was not afraid of them. Yet he was in danger of getting knocked out by Hasim Rahman? Big bad Hasim Rahman who went the full ten rounds (winning by only two points on each judge's scorecard) with an over the hill Al Cole who Corrie Sanders destroyed in a single round when Al was 4 years younger?

Yeah I'm sure Vitali Klitschko, who took on the best heavyweight since Tyson on short notice, was afraid of Hasim Rahman. Chased him right into retirement didn't he?

[RAESAAD]

Who was gonna KO him, Rahman? Rahman doesn't hit nearly as hard as Lewis or Sanders.

Here, here are some big punchers Vital faced who all hit at least on the level of Rahman.

Danny Williams
Corrie Sanders
Kirk Johnson (the weakest hitter on this list but he still hit about as hard as Rahman IMO)
Lennox Lewis
Ross Puritty
Herbie Hide

These guys could all **** and Vitali was not afraid of them. Yet he was in danger of getting knocked out by Hasim Rahman? Big bad Hasim Rahman who went the full ten rounds (winning by only two points on each judge's scorecard) with an over the hill Al Cole who Corrie Sanders destroyed in a single round when Al was 4 years younger?

Yeah I'm sure Vitali Klitschko, who took on the best heavyweight since Tyson on short notice, was afraid of Hasim Rahman. Chased him right into retirement didn't he?

Well you went a bit over board but lets leave it at this I agree with what Mayweather Sr said.......K.I know I am not the only one either......you are obviously a huge fan of them both so you have the right to your opinion as I do mine and Mayweather Srs.

[BrooklynBomber]

Do any of u guys still take in consideration what "experts" say?
Read their expectations of Wlad/Byrd 2 fight, the outcome was obvious even to haters, yet many(majority, in fact) "experts" expected Byrd to beat Wlad.