 The Worldwide Boxing Magazine Site |
Got your free t-shirt yet? |
| articles from the magazine ... |
|
November 1997
Each month we bring you a selection of articles from the current and past issues of BOXING MONTHLY. To buy the magazine, see our subscription or back issues pages, or use our world distribution map to find a news-stand copy. Why not use our Interactive Forum to express your own boxing comments and opinions!
|
 |
SAFETY FIRST (and second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth...) Ever-cautious, George Foreman has decided that Hasim Rahman might prove too problematical for the "linear" champion's next outing, at Atlantic City on 22 November, and that the media-friendly New Yorker Shannon Briggs is more to his liking. American Editor GRAHAM HOUSTON previews the fight and interviews once-beaten Briggs |
|
'HASIM RAHMAN? He was this big a problem, but I figure that Shannon Briggs
will be a lot easier for me' - Big George explains his reasoning
- Get Big Pic
At an age when burned-out executives are casting their thoughts towards
early retirement the astonishing George Foreman prepares for 12 rounds of
heavyweight fisticuffs against a faster, trimmer, more than
20-years-younger opponent.
Foreman will be 49 in January and says he wants to fight for perhaps another
year so he can bow out of the game at 50 - a nice, round number. Meanwhile,
the money is just too good to turn down. And why should he not carry on
with his incredibly long-running career? He is enjoying himself, he isn't
getting hurt, and if the young upstarts have lately made life a bit
uncomfortable for him, doesn't he always win in the end?
Since knocking out Michael Moorer to win back the "linear" title three years
ago, Foreman has won three fights, all 12-round decisions. And although he
no longer holds a major sanctioning body's belt he can still claim that
almost mystical link that goes back in a line through the ages to the last
of the bare-knuckle bruisers, John L. Sullivan.
But one has to wonder if this ageing but still powerful man is not tempting
providence and risking humiliation. He has indeed proved that 40, even the
mid-40s, is not a death sentence in terms of fulfilment of hopes and dreams
but he is, nonetheless, an old man in a young man's game.
And on 22 November, the latest of these young men attempts to prove to
Foreman that youth must be served when Shannon Briggs, he of the golden
dreadlocks, faces the living legend in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with
live television coverage by Home Box Office, the American premium cable
network.
And as when he outpointed Lou Savarese in April, Foreman takes on an
opponent who appears to have a strong chance of winning.
Perhaps not as strong a chance as Hasim "The Rock" Rahman, whom Foreman was
originally scheduled to meet on 22 November. Big George wriggled out of
that one, perhaps coming to realise that Rahman was possibly a bit more of
a banger and genuinely tough man than he really needs to be meeting at this
time of his life.
Sources say that Foreman was not all that keen to meet Briggs, either, but
HBO were apparently ready to pull the plug on Big George's TV date when the
old gent finally agreed.
Briggs is big (6ft 4ins, around 230lbs, or 16st 6lbs) and can punch, with
24 of his 29 wins coming by KO, against only one loss. But that loss was a
shocker, a third-round collapse against Darroll Wilson, a much-smaller
heavyweight who, although unbeaten, was not well-regarded. In his very next
bout, Wilson was knocked out in one round by David Tua - so where does that
put Briggs?
Such form guides can be misleading, but the harsh facts are that Briggs
showed questionable character and a seeming inability to take a heavy shot
when Wilson, after coming under heavy fire early, punched back at him.
Hasim Rahman's co-manager, Bob Mittleman, is highly dismissive of Briggs.
Talking about Foreman's decision not to fight Rahman, after making a
verbal commitment, Mittleman said: "George Foreman's a self-serving phoney,
a surly guy who unfortunately has people snowed, but you never heard me say
he wasn't smart. I call Briggs 'The Tin Man' [referring to The Wizard of
Oz character]. He looks good but he's got a tinkle chin and no heart. He
wouldn't go into the second round with Rahman. I'm telling you, Rahman
would never say anything bad about anybody, but he was going to spank
George, really hurt him."
In Mittleman's opinion, Briggs may well get off to a good start against
Foreman but will be out of there as soon as he gets hit cleanly.
But in the Briggs camp they will tell you that the loss to Wilson in March
1996 was an unfortunate aberration. Briggs has suffered from asthma since
childhood and his manager, stockbroker Marc Roberts, said over the phone
from New Jersey: "I love this fight! If Shannon can't beat a 49-year-old
man I'll be very disappointed in him. George is fighting him based on the
Darroll Wilson fight but he's making a mistake. Shannon had an asthma
attack in that fight and this is his chance to prove it to the world. The
cold weather in Atlantic City brought on the attack: he went for a walk on
the Boardwalk with Teddy Atlas [Brigg's trainer at the time] instead of
staying in the hotel."
Briggs, born in Brooklyn, New York - Mike Tyson territory - trains in the
warmth of Miami, Florida. "We'll bring him in [Atlantic City] two days
before the fight and make sure he stays in the hotel," Roberts said.
As to the fight itself, Roberts said: "I don't want to give too much away,
but let's just say that I want Shannon to box a smart fight - I don't want
him going in there trying to blast Foreman out or doing anything stupid."
From the Foreman side, veteran trainer Angelo Dundee, whom Foreman brings
in to help with strategy and to provide words of wisdom when needed, said
from Miami: "I like the fight. I feel sure the style of this guy will suit
George. I think that the punch that licks most of these guys - George's
left hand - will be predominant.
"The kid's a banger and I don't read too much into that fight he lost.
Certain guys beat certain guys. Briggs might try to move, sure. They
[fighters who meet Foreman] try to move, but if it's not their style to
move then they're not doing the right thing.
"George is smooth enough to catch them when they run, he's steady enough to
make moves to cut the ring down, and he makes moves that makes them make
mistakes. With a puncher like George, just one punch gets them out of
there - but some nights you don't get the shot in. The shot Michael Moorer
got hit with [that gave Foreman a 10th-round knockout], he didn't expect
to get hit with.
"Sure, George has been the distance in his last three fights but I give the
other guys credit for staying in there, for doing the things they had to
do not to get knocked out."
So Foreman will be, well Foreman, in this fight, stalking his man, using the
long, heavy left jab to push his man back, always seeking to manoeuvre
Briggs into position for the left uppercut or right-hand bomb that can
bring matters to an abrupt conclusion.
At 6ft 4ins he is the same height as Briggs, but Foreman, at around 250lbs
will be 20-odd pounds heavier and his sheer physical bulk and enormous
strength, coupled with his far more reliable chin, will presumably give
him the advantage over Briggs if the fight comes down to a slugging match.
So Briggs must box, move, be quick and intelligent. He seems capable of
boxing a disciplined, sensible fight, but he will be under pressure,
mental and physical, against a man who has seen it all before.
And if Briggs starts to slow down, if he falters mentally, he could find
himself instantly in trouble. If Foreman is able to hit Briggs with a big
shot he is adept enough, even at his age, to follow up, and one must wonder
if Briggs could withstand the type of blows that Foreman landed against
Axel Schulz and Lou Savarese.
But Briggs comes into the enigma category. There is no doubt that he has
talent, fast hands and can punch. He starts fast, as his 17 first-round
knockouts indicate, but his physical and psychological staying power have
to be questioned. In his last fight, for instance, he struggled against
the strong but ordinary former body-builder, Jorge Valdez, before winning
in nine rounds. Although Briggs dominated the fight, he allowed himself to
get backed up on the ropes and seemed to be getting hit by left hooks a
bit too often for comfort although he grinned them off.
Valdes is rather a small heavyweight at under 5ft 11ins, and not what you
would call a serious puncher, so perhaps Briggs allowed himself the luxury
of a lackadaisical night. Still, it was not an impressive performance.
Indeed, there seems to be a pattern with Briggs that if he does not get the
other man out of there in a hurry, he has a tendency to perform in a
pedestrian, uninspired manner.
He is a young man who comes from a deprived background but the feeling in
the trade is that manager Roberts has cosseted him, both in terms of
lifestyle and choice of opponents. Teddy Atlas, a disciplinarian type of
trainer, felt that Briggs was becoming self-indulgent and spoiled, and,
Teddy being Teddy, expressed his views in a strong way, which led to a
parting of the ways.
"I don't think he wants to fight," Atlas has said of Briggs, suggesting (in
an interview with a New Jersey newspaper) that the young heavyweight would
"rather make his money doing other things while still being called a
boxer".
These other things are acting (he had a small part in a TV series called
New York Undercover) and rap music. Briggs says these things give life
extra excitement, that he still loves boxing. But many people in the
boxing business are not convinced.
The biggest knock against Briggs in the trade is that, in the words of
veteran New Jersey manager-trainer Al Certo, he "never learned to fight
uphill", which means that he has never had to reach within himself, find
reserves of heart and commitment, and come back from calamity. In the only
fight in which he got seriously tested - against Darroll Wilson - he fell
apart.
Asthma attack or bail-out? Only Briggs knows, but his hunger is questioned,
which seems strange when one is referring to a former street kid. But
Briggs has million-dollar backing thanks to his manager establishing the
fighter as a corporation and bringing wealthy investors on board, and, once
a homeless teenager, Briggs has been able to enjoy a life of some opulence.
Atlas felt that Briggs had the fruits of success without having earned them
and said in an interview with Michael Katz of the New York Daily News at
the time of the break-up: "They might as well have given him a belt as
Future Heavyweight Champion of the World."
Atlas wanted Briggs to, as he put it, "change the environment around him".
Briggs would have none of it, and in an interview in this magazine last
month explained how much more relaxed and confident he feels working with
his new trainer, a Cuban named Carlos Albuerne.
Briggs, 25, talks of a new beginning. But there are those who follow boxing
who believe him to be a front runner who can dish it out but not take it,
one who simply lacks the true grit ever to be a genuinely outstanding
fighter. Boston Globe boxing writer Ron Borges noted around the time that
Briggs dropped Teddy Atlas: "If Briggs could fight as well as Atlas can
train, he'd be somebody. Which he isn't."
So, amid the swirling scepticism, Briggs comes out for his biggest fight. A
win over Foreman and his stock, in the literal as well as figurative sense,
soars. And, largely because of Foreman's age and a feeling that his time
is just about up, one has to give Briggs an excellent chance.
One thing in Briggs's favour compared to recent Foreman opponents is that
he can punch extremely hard. But Foreman, as we all know, can take a great
punch. If Briggs hits Foreman with his best shots and the old codger keeps
coming, will the younger man lose heart? Briggs may be able to outbox his
slower opponent and he can - and perhaps will - hurt him, but Foreman's
calculated advance, the strong left jab and heavy-handed blows (not all of
which Briggs will be able to avoid) could wear down the younger man
mentally and physically.
This could be the night that Father Time finally catches up with Foreman
- with a little help from Briggs - but the last thing an old fighter loses
is his punch. Briggs is likely to build up a lead on points but he surely
is going to get hit, and that's when we will see, once and for all, the
stuff of which he's made.
Foreman's age is balanced by doubts over Briggs's mental and physical
durability, which makes it difficult to prognosticate with any degree of
confidence. Foreman could conceivably get caught cold by Briggs and hit by
so many punches that the referee has to rescue the older man. Or Briggs
could give his greatest technical performance and box a perfect fight to
win on points. Then again, Briggs could get flattened the first time he
gets hit. Maybe Briggs will be too defensive, in which case we could
witness Foreman chugging forward like a sturdy old steam train coming down
to the track to score his fourth consecutive points victory.
It's all guesswork, really, in a fight such as this, but the guess here is
that Foreman, possibly a bit battered and behind on points, will catch up
with Briggs and bludgeon him to the floor some time in the last five
rounds. But nothing that happens would come as a huge surprise. It is, as
they say, that sort of fight.
A good night for Shannon Briggs?
For all those who doubt Shannon Briggs based on his defeat last year by
Darroll Wilson, you need to know the full facts, says the dreadlocked
heavyweight from Brooklyn, New York, who now lives in New Jersey.
"I've been an asthmatic all my life," Briggs said from training camp at
Miami, "and I had an asthma attack in this fight. I'd trained in the warm
weather but when I came to Atlantic City I did a lot of walking outside."
This, he said, induced the asthma.
"I didn't know what the hell was going on," he said. "I'd been training for
nine weeks in Florida, I was in great shape, there was no way I coulda run
out of gas fighting for 50 rounds. I was hitting him with good shots, but
I kinda couldn't catch my breath. When I got back to my corner I just
wanted to relax myself for the next round, but I felt myself tightening up
around the chest and the back area and my hands felt like they had weights
in them. It was crazy.
"I don't feel I have anything to prove. It was a lucky night for Darroll
because I was sick. He ain't a great fighter. I think he knows he isn't as
good a fighter as me. I would have knocked him out in the first round but
I was exhausted in the second round. It was the biggest fight of my life,
on HBO, so you think I'm not going to train?"
The bleak night in March 1996 was the first in a series of traumatic events
in Briggs's life last year. He split from trainer Teddy Atlas and the
American writers were unsympathetic to Briggs' position. On 4 December,
his 25th birthday, his mother died.
"I learned a lot in '96 and one of the things is you have very few friends
in the press," he said. "The same people that was writing good about me,
they turned around and wrote I had no chin, I had no heart, but when I was
winning fights they had nothing to say about that. But then I lose one
fight and they all came out of the woodwork saying this and saying that.
But I understand that's their job or whatever, but they didn't know the
situation. Then I come back and destroy George Foreman - what will they
say then?"
He says he can now look at the loss to Wilson as a blessing in disguise. As
he explained in detail in an interview in last month's issue, he was not
enjoying his boxing under Teddy Atlas and is much happier with his new,
Cuban trainer, Carlos Albuerne, who communicates in broken English.
"With Carlos it's a great feeling to go to the gym," Briggs said. "You've
got to love what you do. If you hate your job, it's going to tell on you.
I wasn't enjoying boxing. It was just a job [under Teddy Atlas]. Something
had to happen to make things change. Carlos gets a lot out of me because I
like him."
Briggs is interested in acting and rap music but says these diversions are
to make life more interesting and in no way detract from his boxing.
"People seem to associate me losing the fight [with Wilson] with the jobs I
was doing outside of boxing, but that's not the case at all," he said. "I
still do those things, I'm hoping to do a movie in '98, I'm still rapping
- I have a single in the making - but I'm concentrating on the Foreman
fight.
His manager, Marc Roberts, has been criticised by the U.S. media for what
is seen as over-protective handling, but Briggs said: "Marc's a great
manager. Boxing's a rough business and a lot of managers wouldn't have
stuck by me during all the things I've been through like Marc has. It's
more than just a business relationship."
And the Foreman fight? "I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I'm training
for 20 rounds. I'm amazed at how old he is and he's still a good fighter,
fighting young guys and winning. It's a freak of nature. But at the same
time I can't get caught up in that. I've got to go out and do my thing."
And what of the rap against him that he hasn't, as they say, beaten
anybody? "I think my last fight, with Jorge Valdes [a nine rounds TKO win
in June] was a big accomplishment for me because he'd just been 10 rounds
with Axel Schulz, he was training really hard for me, he was really looking
forward to beating me," Briggs said.
Against Foreman, Briggs would be best served, it would seem, by boxing and
moving, not getting involved with the still-powerful old gent. But Briggs
said: "I just say: 'I'm gonna fight.' I can't tell you I'm going to go out
and box. I want to box him, I want a strategic fight, but sometimes I go
in there and I just want to fight. He's counting on that - but sometimes
what makes you laugh makes you cry."
So, it's going to be a good night for you, Shannon? "It's going to be a
great night," Briggs said. |
|
Also available to read from issue:
|
|
On sale on the last Thursday of every month Ensure you never miss a copy . . . buy your subscription or back issues here. |