Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs
(born December 4, 1971, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American heavyweight boxer and actor.
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SHANNON BRIGGS TICKETS
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Early life
Raised in
Brownsville, Brooklyn, Briggs was homeless for a period in his childhood. Eventually he went on to live with an aunt in East New York, Brooklyn. At age 17, Briggs began training at Jimmy Farrow's Starrett City Gym.
Amateur career
Briggs became New York City Golden Goves champion, New York State Champion, National P.A.L. Champion and finished second place as a Heavyweight at the Panamerican Games in 1991, losing the final to
Felix Savon. In 1992 he became the United States Amateur Champion.
Professional career
Briggs began his career in 1992 and was undefeated in his first 25 fights. He suffered his first loss when he was knocked out by undefeated
Darroll Wilson in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1996. The fight was broadcast on
HBO and was a showcase of young heavyweight fighters.
Following the loss, Briggs defeated
George Foreman for the lineal world heavyweight championship and then challenged
Lennox Lewis for the
WBC heavyweight title. In their 1998 fight, Briggs had Lewis in trouble early but was knocked down three times and lost by TKO.
He later drew with
Francois Botha and lost a decision to clubfighter
Sedreck Fields, considered a major upset. He also was outpointed by contender
Jameel McCline but defeated former WBO heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist
Ray Mercer in 2005.
Shannon won the WBO heavyweight championship title when he knocked out
Sergei Liakhovich in the last round of a November 4, 2006, matchup. After a lackluster 11 rounds which left the Arizona crowd restless, Briggs was losing on all three judges' scorecards. Sensing urgency, Briggs pressed the fight in the 12th round and knocked Liakhovich down. Briggs subsequently trapped him on the ropes and continued his assault, knocking Liakhovich out of the ring. Liakhovich landed on a ringside table, and the referee stopped the bout. The official time was 2:59.
In his first title defense Shannon Briggs was to face
Sultan Ibragimov on March 10, 2007; however, Briggs pulled out of the fight because he was diagnosed with "aspirational pneumonia." The fight was rescheduled fifty days later in Atlantic City on June 2, 2007, with a sluggish Briggs losing in a unanimous decision.
Briggs was promoted by
Don King Productions and self managed. He has been arreseted numerous times for Felony Threats to prior girlfriends and beating up women.
Outside the Ring
Briggs is also an actor. He made his television acting debut on
New York Undercover in 1995 and has since appeared in feature films
Bad Boys 2 with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence,
Transporter 2, and
The Wackness.
Briggs also made an appearance on the
Fugees' breakthrough album,
The Score.
Kick-Boxing Career
Briggs competed in a kickboxing match against MMA fighter Tom Erikson and won the fight by knockout.
References