USA: BOXING - Heavyweights Shannon Briggs and Sultan Ibragimov hold press conference in lead up to thier upcoming title fight

The boxing odyssey of Shannon Briggs takes a new turn when the Brooklyn native makes the first defense of his WBO heavyweight title against Russia's Sultan Ibragimov on March 10 at Madison Square Garden. The 35-year-old Briggs, who began his professional career as a 20-year-old in 1992 and lost a 1998 title shot against Lennox Lewis, finally claimed a world title with his last-second stoppage of Sergei Liakhovich last November. Now the 6-foot-4, dreadlocked Briggs returns to the famed Garden where he once fought as an amateur, to defend his World Boxing Organization crown against southpaw Ibragimov, the 2000 Olympic silver medallist. "This is a great opportunity for me to showcase my talent at home, to bring the title back home," Briggs told a news conference Wednesday (January 10). "It's going to be a great night for boxing, for all New Yorkers who've known me over the years, seen my struggle, my ups and downs." The title match will be staged in Madison Square Garden's Theater, a cozy venue with a seating capacity of 5,149. Briggs was trailing on all three judges cards in his title fight against Liakhovich in Phoenix, but the big American knocked the Belarussian down twice, the second time sending him through the ropes and out of the ring as the referee waved an end to the 12-round bout with one second left. Briggs said he is again going to prove those who doubt him wrong, and he used the press conference to thank all his supporters. "People turned their back on me saying 'Shannon, you'll never do it,' whatever. I did it. I want to thank those who supported me because this belt is not just for me it's for you guys, those who believed in me, and that's from the bottom of my heart. I really mean that," said Briggs. Ibragimov, ranked number one by the WBO, had won his first 19 pro fights before battling American Ray Austin to a hard-fought draw last July in Florida. The 6-foot-2 Ibragimov said fighting Briggs, who tips the scales at around 270 pounds, is a challenge he is ready for. "The opponent is very good. He's big," Ibragimov told Reuters. "But we have many different strategies which we've worked on. All my last fights were with heavy opponents, so I've become accustomed to heavy opponents. "We have a special plan we're going to use and we're going to win." After this mandatory defense, Briggs hopes he can move on to a unification bout against one of the other heavyweight title holders -- IBF holder Wladimir Klitschko, WBC champion Oleg Maskaev and WBA titlist Nikolai Valuev. SL/JRC

ITN Source | January 12, 2007

Tags:. .upcoming. .struggle. .olympic. .champion. .theater