Sultan Ibragimov vs. Shannon Briggs

Go Sultan! Briggs claimed that he was going to go after Sultan, but I was skeptical of that. I thought Sultan would be the one to make the mistake of being too aggressive and get countered. I'm a little disappointed that it was apparently a boring fight (I haven't seen it yet,) but a win's a win. I can't blame him for being cautious against a 275 pound power puncher.

Of course, as always, the losing fighter has an excuse:

Briggs, 35, then said he was forced to fight Saturday night.

"They threatened me," he said, not identifying who did the threatening. "I really didn't want to fight and they threatened if I pulled out they would sue me and they would have stripped me."

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While Ibragimov carried the action, he ended Briggs' 12-bout winning streak. Briggs said he wasn't prepared for the fight.

"I had to do what I had to do," said Briggs, who added he doesn't plan to retire. "I was hurting, you know what I am saying? And he was running and he kept running.

"I proved that someone with asthma can become heavyweight champion. ... For two weeks, I couldn't train, I was taking all kinds of antibiotics. I didn't want to fight, but they made me fight and I had to fight."

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http://cbs.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/10210178/1

Wasn't this guy sick in March? And he's still sick in June?? And who exactly would strip him of his belt? Obviously not Sultan's camp.
Edited by: JD074

Guys,the next time you see a negro posing and flexing his 'roided out body,ignore it.It means sh*t.The fight went pretty much the way I expected it would.Nothing flashy just that the boxer won and the clown lost.Speaking of excuses Edison Miranda said it was all that weight he had to lose which made him weak and that is why he lost.Excuse number 1,000,000,000,000,000,it never never ends.To Sultan, Na Zdrowie.

It's amazing (ridiculous) that a heavyweight champion can basically do nothing but throw occasional light jabs for an entire bout. Briggs' strategy in fights seems to be to expend as little energy as possible while letting his reach advantage deny opponents an opportunity to do serious damage. If Briggs was white his ultra-boring"fighting style" would be roundly condemned by the Caste media.

If Briggs' asthma is so bad that he has to continuously pull out of fights, he needs to get another job.

They're still giving Vitali sh*t for pulling out of his fight with Rahman because of injury. Edited by: White Shogun

Perhaps the most sickening and/or dishearteningpeice of informationconcerning this "fight" is the fact that it should have never taken place. If you recall the fight between Briggs and Liahovich, the grossy underconditionedBriggscame inusing the exact same"strategy" (to do almost nothing for as long as possiblewhile hoping to land a single KO punch).Though Briggsdoes have asthma,Ifail to understand the logic in "taunting" his opponents(especially Wlad during a press conference) when he had trouble even winning a single round against a man over 50 lbs lighter and with far less heavyweight experience. I've been watching Sultan for a while now, what he lacks in size he truely makes up for with his adamant style and fearless nature. Congrats to all four heavyweight champions....the belts are in deserving hands. Watch Wlad avenge his loss in July as he destroys Lamon Brewster.

I saw the fight on Youtube. I scored it eleven rounds to one for Sultan. I gave Briggs the first round. The only other rounds that were even close, IMO, were rounds 7 and 10. That's it. A good round for Briggs was landing one or two power shots. When Sultan was inactive, Briggs was even more inactive, and when Briggs stepped up his game, Sultan stepped up his game even more. The first three or four rounds were boring, but I enjoyed the second half of the fight. And if anybody is to be blamed for the boredom, it must be Briggs. He was the much bigger man, and he's the champion. He should have pressed the action more, try to close the ring off, etc. This was his fault.

Also, after having watched the replay of the knockdown that was ruled a push several times, I have to say I believe that it was a knockdown. I could not see Sultan's hands actually push him. Sultan hit him with a flush right, Briggs held on to him, and then fell down. Sultan's arms were extended, with his hands touching Briggs' torso, after he fell, but I could not see his hands on him when Briggs was upright. Maybe it was the body contact of the 220 pound man that pushed down the 275 pound man... yeah right.

I have no idea how one judge scored it seven rounds to five for Sultan. What friggin' fight was he watching?! When one of the commentators heard that 115-113 scorecard announced, he said, "Oh wow!" He couldn't believe that score. I can't either. Utterly ridiculous.Edited by: JD074

I downloaded the fight and man was it awful to watch. The New Jersey commission should fine Briggs for his non-effort. For all the talk coming out of Briggs he was totally impotent. If Sultan was a shade more ambitious he would have ko'd Briggs. I guess because Briggs wasn't ko'd he will be back in line for another title shot or an eliminator. He can count me out for watching though.... Edited by: white is right

I will watch an eliminator, or rematch. I enjoyed the stand-up comedy of Sham-man Briggs during the fight. Loved the way he laughed/smiled back to his corner after each round. My God, he must have been on some good gear to have not known that he was loosing every round. I did not score one round to Briggs. The "Ali" excuse era of being able to pose for 12 rounds while dancing is over. Perhaps Sham-man can get a 4 round fight vs Butter Bean. I pick Butter Bean by a knock out.Edited by: WHITE NOISE

Here's an excellent video showing highlights of the fight:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuiTbXveYKQ

This is worth watching. The slow motion here and there shows more clearly what Sultan was doing. He is a smart fighter and was in control for virtually all of the fight.Edited by: JD1986

WHITE NOISE said:

I will watch an eliminator, or rematch. I enjoyed the stand-up comedy of Sham-man Briggs during the fight. Loved the way he laughed/smiled back to his corner after each round. My God, he must have been on some good gear to have not known that he was loosing every round. I did not score one round to Briggs. The "Ali" excuse era of being able to pose for 12 rounds while dancing is over. Perhaps Sham-man can get a 4 round fight vs Butter Bean. I pick Butter Bean by a knock out.

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If you want pure comedy try his line at the end of the fight" That's right I ain't going nowhere..." It almost had me choking with laughter. I guess The Sultan of Swat hit harder than Briggs admitted at the post fight press conference because that line was as loopy as anything I have ever heard of Micheal Irvings mouth........ Edited by: white is right

This author didn't buy Brigg's jive.......till talking a good fight
But Briggs lost title without putting up much of a battle
By BERNARD FERNANDEZ
fernanb@phillynews.com
New WBO heavyweight champ Sultan Ibragimov gets a lift.
Associated Press
New WBO heavyweight champ Sultan Ibragimov gets a lift.
ATLANTIC CITY - And then there were none.

Sultan Ibragimov's start-to-finish pasting of a statue named Shannon Briggs Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall gave the Russian southpaw a unanimous-decision victory and the WBO version of the heavyweight title. It also meant another clean sweep of the four most widely recognized heavyweight championships for fighters from the former Soviet Union, a monopoly interrupted last Nov. 4 in Phoenix when Briggs, from Brooklyn, N.Y., erased a deficit on the judges' scorecards by stopping then-WBO titlist Sergei Liakhovich, of Belarus, in the 12th and final round.

A few of the 5,132 spectators (less than half of capacity) who were in the house came equipped with American or Russian flags, ostensibly for waving, but it was soon apparent that any vestiges of the Cold War had evaporated. A good thing, too. If heavyweight boxing were the tipping factor in a figurative global conflict between present or former superpowers, U.S. fight fans would now be cowering before the forces of the onetime Evil Empire.

How bad was it?

The boos began in the first minute of the first round and continued throughout. And, despite someone's effort to get a "USA! USA!" chant going in Round 3, presumably to stir the lethargic champion into action, it - and Briggs - went nowhere.

Even some of the bearers of Old Glory became so disillusioned by Briggs' lack of effort that two guys, their U.S. flags now furled, were participating in a different chant - "Shannon [stinks]! Shannon [stinks]!" - after a fight that might not have killed boxing, but again put it on the critical list.

Briggs' sole highlight came in the first round, when he landed a straight right that momentarily sent Ibragimov stumbling backward. But Briggs (48-5-1, 42 KOs) was unwilling or unable to follow up, and Ibragimov (21-0-1, 17 KOs) - who bears a startling resemblance to "Flintstones" character Barney Rubble - gained confidence as it began to dawn on him that his 273-pound opponent could barely move and wouldn't throw punches.

Yabba dabba do, indeed.

The decision was a formality, or at least should have been. Judge Lynne Carter, of Philadelphia, had Ibragimov winning on a near-shutout, 119-109, which matched the Daily News card. Don Trella had it nearly as wide for the new champ at 117-111, but the third judge, Luis Rivera, inexplicably had Ibragimov up by just 115-113.

Limited as Ibragimov is, there was no doubt he had kicked, uh, Briggs' asthma.

At the postfight press conference, Briggs, 35, tossed out alibis with far more vigor than he had tossed punches in the ring. Most dealt with his asthma, which he always cites as the reason for any underwhelming performance.

But you have to give the man credit. When it comes to spin-doctoring and putting a pretty face on an ugly evening, Briggs always has been in a class by himself.

Refusing to give Ibragimov even a smidgeon of credit, Briggs - who said he might quit boxing to go to Hollywood and become an actor - told so many tall tales that you half-expected his nose to begin to grow, like Pinocchio's.

"No excuses," he said, which contradicted everything he would then say. "I came to the fight wounded and I still felt that I won.

"I thought you had to beat the champion bad enough to get the belt. All [Ibragimov] did was run."

Briggs then said he thought he was the greatest fighter ever, a whopper of the first magnitude, because he had fought for such a long time with a debilitating disease.

Briggs did postpone this bout from its originally announced March 10 date because of a shortness of breath during training. He said he had not had another asthma attack, but was diagnosed with a case of walking pneumonia.

So why did he proceed with the bout if, as he claimed, he still was feeling the lingering effects of his respiratory condition?

"Pulling out again was not an option," he explained. "One, I have to feed my family. [Briggs' purse was $1.8 million.] Two, the politics involved. I was told the TV networks wouldn't put me on again if I pulled out of this fight. They [Ibragimov's promoters] threatened to sue me and [the WBO] would have stripped me."

So, if what he was saying were true, Briggs - who had vowed in the prefight hype to "decapitate" Ibragimov - accepted his seven-figure payday under pretenses.

Briggs might or might not have had walking pneumonia, but the fans, both in the arena and those who paid the $29.95 pay-per-view subscription price, came away with the boogie-woogie blues. *

I see that 'roids were brought up in this thread. This will veer off boxing for a bit, but on we go. BTW, I haven't followed up on earlier posts because I've been busy the last couple of weeks, have some kids I help train running at the state track meet, been helping with another "older kid" who's up at the Prefontaine today. That I'll catch on the tube shortly. I promise on a stack of bibles I'll try and add my two cents (if it's even worth that) more often this summer in between work and coaching duties (Ok, I'll admit it here, I train some track athletes and help a few fighters with conditioning beyond just fight conditioning - if you guys fight you should run some intervals - it'll destroy body fat and give you much faster recovery). Alrighty, a quick note on 'roids: I don't make baseless drug accusations. Gatlin had been caught on amphetamines red handed wellbefore the '04 games. He was let off claiming the drugs were for ADD - an excuse used by many, many black affletes from the sprints up to the 800 meters when caught. It was a combination of his not shutting his big mouth and his coach under fire that got him caught. It's more a case of officials not wanting to deal with him and no doubt he violated the usual deal black athletes had been getting from US officials. Stay out of trouble, stay clean for a year or two and we'll leave you alone. NO WHITE ATHLETE in the US caught on stimulants like him has ever been quickly reinstated and allowed to run the trials and go to the Olympics etc. Some officials now claim Gatlin had been also caught on the juice in '01 and '02 and that the amphetamine charges made it look like his transgressions were less severe. One look at these guy's physiques is all it takes. The training isn't all that different for most sprinters now than it was 35 years ago. It isn't only weight training. Most drug free bodybuilders black or white cannot develop the musculature or definition many of these guys have. As a side note, it's easier to get many drugs outside the US, over the counter in fact in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, easy as pie in Jamaica etc, don't buy the 'poor third world' stories.

I could go on with track, but all one has to do is Google (or ask me) what happened to Carl Lewis (and other other black athletes from the US between 1977 and 2000). The fact came out that he had been caught on drugs numerous times and was let off. All Carl says now is that he was doing what others were doing or that he's going to sue for the information being released. During this period once in a while a lesser black athlete or one at the end of his career might get popped. Not one in contention for medals or records was derailed. Not so for whites caught on drugs. Even if you were the World Record Holder (Randy Barnes as one example) you were suspended. On many occasions, whites had to endure what turned out to be rumors, while blacks caught red-handed were protected a la Lewis.

Briggs showed all the evidence of 'roid use in his title winning fight. He wasn't short of breath because of asthma. That isn't the way it works. His skin tone alone was the tip off never mind how quickly he'd gained the extra muscle. Steroids give many people a "waxy fruit" appearance, whether they are black or white or whatever. That's exactly what he looked like. Shane Mosely had been juicing for quite awhile and wasn't tagged until his name turned up on the Balco list. Look at his record since. The deck is usually stacked, Sure, whites have used drugs too, obviously. But they run a greater chance of having to pay the piper. What's happened to Bonds and Sheffield to name a couple? Nothing. See any black American ballplayers make an appearance in DC with McGwire et al. No.

One more thing, I've seen steroid use all the way down to the HS level. Some drugs are not that much more than certain legal supplements on the market. Ask an honest bodybuilder. Edited by: Colonel Callan

Briggs' lack of stamina is because he is carry way too much muscle mass for his frame. I recall Bas Ruten talking about muscle needing more oxygen than fat and it is better to carry a higher body fat ratio then the stereotypical juicers build. If Briggs had an asthma attack he would have literally collapsed and medical people would have been administering oxygen to him on the scene. I suspect if Briggs got off juice his whole system would shutdown and he would go through testosterone withdrawal. That's why he has kept his rediculous cartoon character build.

Boxing is an anarobic activity. Muscles will tone, shred and become defined. What they won't do is balloon up in Popeye type fashion during a fight, unless one is on GEAR! Hello Sham-man.

Briggs is a loser in every way.The most important thing here is that white fighters hold all the heavyweight belts again. Congrats to Ibragimov. As someone else previously mentioned, the next good news will come when Klitschko KOs Brewster.