Vitali Klitschko vs. Shannon Briggs

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Vitali Klitschko vs. Shannon Briggs.jpg
Date16 October 2010
Venue O2 World Hamburg, Altona, Hamburg, Germany
Title(s) on the line WBC heavyweight championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Vitali Klitschko Shannon Briggs
Nickname Dr. Ironfist The Cannon
Hometown Kyiv, Ukraine Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Purse $750,000
Pre-fight record 40–2 (38 KO) 51–5–1 (1) (45 KO)
Age 39 years, 2 months 38 years, 10 months
Height 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 251 lb (114 kg) 262 lb (119 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBC
Heavyweight Champion
The Ring
No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight		 WBC
No. 8 Ranked Heavyweight
Former two time heavyweight champion
Result
Klitschko defeated Briggs by Unanimous Decision

Vitali Klitschko vs. Shannon Briggs was a professional boxing match contested on 16 October 2010, for the WBC heavyweight championship. [1]

Contents

Background

Since his return from retirement in 2008, Vitali Klitschko had made four successful defences in his second reign as WBC heavyweight champion, the last coming against Albert Sosnowski in May 2010. While he was negotiating for a bout with former WBO and lineal champion Shannon Briggs, after David Haye [2] [3] , Nikolai Valuev [4] [5] [6] and Alexander Povetkin declined the bout, Vitali called out WBA titleholder Haye saying "Haye has twice jumped away because he is afraid. Haye doesn't want to fight, we [The Klitschkos] are ready to fight him anytime. We'll split the worldwide income 50-50 - I think that's fair.Right now David Haye is missing. If he's afraid to fight, he needs to tell everyone and stop the talk. If he's ready, let's sign the contract and talk in the ring with our fists, not with our mouths." [7] After claiming to have signed a contact to fight Vitali, Briggs said "I look forward to retiring a great champion - I'm the best ever. Hopefully when I retire Vitali I can fight David Haye at Wembley Stadium, that would be a dream come true". [8]

On 17 August, it was formally announced that Klitschko would defend his WBC title against Briggs on 16 October. [9] [10] During the build up Briggs recalled that during his post title hiatus from boxing it was a chance encounter with the champion in a Los Angeles restaurant that inspired his comeback saying "I was fat and he touched my stomach. And in that moment right there I decided to come back. He should have left me alone." [11] [12]

The fight

Klitschko completely dismantled the challenger with superior hand speed, landing with multiple left-right combinations. Briggs struggled to land any meaningful punches, as Klitschko won every round decisively. After a few rounds, Briggs was receiving a vicious and sustained beating which caused him serious facial injuries. Considering the beating he was receiving, there was some suggestion that the referee should have stopped the bout during the last few rounds.

At the end of 12 rounds Klitschko retained his belt by unanimous decision, with official scores of 120–107, 120–107 and 120–105. [13] [14] [15] [16]

Aftermath

During the post-fight interview, Briggs said: "I've fought George Foreman, I've fought Lennox Lewis, and Vitali's the best. He hits harder than Foreman, he's got incredibly fast hands. This was my best fight." Klitschko praised Briggs' durability saying "I am very surprised by how much he took, he's got a huge heart. I could not believe he was still standing after taking so many punches," he also said that Briggs deserved "a lot of respect." [17]

While Klitschko did not knock down Briggs, the latter collapsed after the fight and was hospitalized with facial fractures and a torn biceps. [18] [19] [20]

The fight averaged over 13 million viewers on RTL. [21]

Undercard

Confirmed bouts: [22]

WinnerLoserWeight division/title belt(s) disputedResult
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ola Afolabi Flag of Georgia.svg Sandro SiproshviliCruiserweight (10 rounds)Unanimous decision
Flag of Russia.svg Zaurbek Baysangurov Flag of Portugal (official).svg Eugenio MonteiroMiddleweight (8 rounds)3rd round RTD
Flag of Russia.svg Alexander Ustinov Flag of Turkey.svg Ozcan CetinkayaHeavyweight (8 rounds)2nd round TKO
Flag of Serbia.svg Nenad Borovčanin Flag of Austria.svg Patrick BergerHeavyweight (6 rounds)1st round TKO
Flag of Turkey.svg Hizni Altunkaya Flag of Germany.svg Mathias ReinhardtCruiserweight (4 rounds)1st round TKO

Broadcasting

CountryBroadcaster
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia One HD
Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark TV 2
Flag of Germany.svg Germany RTL
Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Digi Sport
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Primetime [23]
Flag of the United States.svg United States ESPN3

References

  1. ↑ "Vitali Klitschko vs. Shannon Briggs". boxrec.com/. BoxRec. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  2. ↑ Press Association (13 April 2010). "Talks to start this week between David Haye and Klitschko brothers". The Guardian . Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  3. ↑ "Klitschko brothers line up autumn bouts to leave David Haye frustrated". The Guardian. 31 July 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  4. ↑ Ruslan Chikov (19 June 2010). "Klitschko vs Valuev, Klitschko vs Povetkin Updates". boxingscene.com. Boxing Scene. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  5. ↑ Colin Linneweber (11 March 2010). "Vitali Klitschko Calls Russian Giant Nikolai Valuev a "Chicken"". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 13 March 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  6. ↑ Vadim Pushkin (25 March 2016). "Valuev Explains Why The Klitschko Fight Never Happened". boxingscene.com. Boxing Scene. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "David Haye afraid of Klitschko brothers - Vitali". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 31 July 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  8. ↑ Neil Maidment (29 July 2010). "Briggs talks big after confirming Vitali Klitschko fight". London. Reuters. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  9. ↑ Dan Rafael (17 August 2010). "Vitali Klitschko to fight Shannon Briggs". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  10. ↑ "Shannon Briggs plans early finish for Vital Klitschko". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  11. ↑ Associated Press (30 August 2010). "Shannon Briggs taunts Vitali Klitschko". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  12. ↑ Michael Woods (12 October 2010). "This one's personal for Shannon Briggs". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  13. ↑ "Vitali Klitschko beats Shannon Briggs to retain title". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  14. ↑ "Vitali Klitschko beats Shannon Briggs in WBC heavyweight title defence". The Guardian. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  15. ↑ Sukachev, Alexey (16 October 2010). "Vitali Klitschko Gives Briggs a Brutal Beating in Hamburg". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  16. ↑ "Vitali Klitschko Keeps His Title". The New York Times. 17 October 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  17. ↑ Associated Press (16 October 2010). "Vitali Klitschko dominates in decision". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  18. ↑ Dan Rafael (17 October 2010). "Shannon Briggs hospitalized after loss". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  19. ↑ Karpeles R. (October 17, 2010). "Shannon Briggs in Hospital after Vitali Klitschko Fight" . Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  20. ↑ Associated Press (20 October 2010). "Shannon Briggs vows to return". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  21. ↑ "TV-Quoten: RTL siegt mit Boxen und Supertalent" (in German). Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  22. ↑ "BoxRec - event".
  23. ↑ Scott Christ (16 October 2010). "Bad Left Hook Live Boxing Results and Commentary: Vitali Klitschko v. Shannon Briggs". badlefthook.com. Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
Preceded by Vitali Klitschko's bouts
16 October 2010		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shannon Briggs's bouts
16 October 2010		Succeeded by
vs. Maurenzo Smith
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