Most manufactured title shot ever?

Berlin - World heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has said he wants to finally meet perennial taunter Shannon Briggs of the United States in the ring after facing Bryant Jennings in April.

His management team has confirmed WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO champion Klitschko will face undefeated American heavyweight Jennings at New York's Madison Square Gardens on April 25.

It will be the fourth time Klitschko has fought at the New York venue and he is relishing the fight.

"I do have great respect for Bryant Jennings and his achievements. I know this will be a tough challenge," said Klitschko in a statement.

"I am extremely happy to fight in New York again. It will definitely be a great fight night and I will do everything for it from my side.”

But Klitschko, 38, insists he is also keen to meet former WBO heavyweight champion Briggs later in 2015 to end the 43-year-old's constant goading of the Ukrainain world champion to give him a fight.

"Shannon Briggs has stepped over the line in terms of good taste. I want to punish him for his cheekiness and really want to fight him," Hamburg-based Klitschko told German magazine Sport Bild.

"I understand Briggs. There is a logic to what he does.

"He wants to promote himself, just like Tyson Fury, David Haye, Manuel Charr and Marco Huck have done, the boys want to draw you into a conversation.

"But no one has done it so well as Shannon Briggs.

"However, he has overstepped the line, he doesn't know when to stop and it's not funny any more."

Briggs stalked Klitschko in the build-up to his knock-out of Bulgaria's Kubrat Pulev last November by attempting to gate-crash a media sparing session bare-chested and yelling his demand to fight the champion.

In the past, Briggs has taunted Klitschko while the champion was eating in a Miami restaurant and even used a speedboat to bother Klitschko while the Ukrainian was paddle-surfing.

Klitschko was last defeated more than a decade ago and only the fine details of the Jennings bout are still to be finalized, the champion's management told SID.

Another future possible opponent for Klitschko, who has 63 wins, 53 knock-outs and three defeats on his resume, is newly-crowned WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

The 29-year-old became the first American boxer to claim a world heavyweight belt since 2006 after his unanimous points win over Canada's Bermane Stiverne in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Klitschko has said he wants to win the WBC belt, which his brother Vitali recently held before moving into politics, to become the first boxer in history to hold all four major titles of IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC belts.

Someone's probably said to Wlad go to America and knock the Frak out of a couple of locals and build up to a massive showdown with wilder. I reckon if wilder had lost briggs would have continued to be amusing

"Shannon Briggs has stepped over the line in terms of good taste. I want to punish him for his cheekiness and really want to fight him,"

LOL

He wants to PUNISH him for being CHEEKY!

Funny if he lost

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:"Shannon Briggs has stepped over the line in terms of good taste. I want to punish him for his cheekiness and really want to fight him,"

LOL

He wants to PUNISH him for being CHEEKY!

Worrying when wlad is stealing truss' chat up lines from the oyster

ShahenshahG wrote:Someone's probably said to Wlad go to America and knock the Frak out of a couple of locals and build up to a massive showdown with wilder. I reckon if wilder had lost briggs would have continued to be amusing

V good assessment!

The Briggs thing has always felt manufactured, like Wlad was complicit in the charade.

Would make sense if Jennings & Briggs were sacrificial lambs to set up a major Vegas pay day versus US 'star' Wilder.

Lennox Lewis could get up off his sun lounger tomorrow and still whip Jennings and Briggs.

'Tis a shame. Wlad's done some decent work in the past few years (beating Haye, actually looking a bit more like a devastating Heavyweight champion against Pulev, generally knuckling down to fighting the leading Heavyweights rather than avoid them with daft histrionics, ala Mayweather and Pacquiao etc) towards silencing some of his critics or at least forcing them to give him some dues. Think he might undo quite a bit of that if he signs for this joke of a fight against Briggs.

The Jennings fight in New York is a good move for him and I appreciate that all involved will now have one eye on building the potential fight with Wilder - but why someone like Briggs to continue that work against? Briggs sure as hell ain't the next best Heavy the Land of the Free has to offer so why Wlad and his team decided to sign Shannon up for this stupid bad blood, rivalry hoax is beyond me.

Just don't do it, Wlad. Don't.

That's a little unfair Chris. Briggs did after all win the German poll for who Wladimir should fight next. He also fills all the requirements for a modern championship fight.

Is it financially viable? Tick
Is he beatable on two hours notice? tick
Does a fight with him bring words like "Entertaining", "Watchable" and "financial" to mind, but not "risky" or "competitive"? Tick

Yes, perhaps I have sold Shannon a little short, there, raf. He's such a card!

If Wlad genuinely wants to hang around another few years then he should avoid the Briggs fiasco. It damages his reputation which is only just starting to recover in the USA after the Ibragimov fight. As inherently stupid as the Americans are, even they can't be stupid enough to consider Briggs a viable opponent but then again, there were certain factions of the British public were dumb enough to believe Audley Harrison could be considered a worthwhile opponent for David Haye.

Aw hell...I just gone and plum done talked maself into wantin' to see that there fight with that Briggs fella and that big guy from (insert name of country you think is in Europe but won't commit 100% to specifics)

Don't think anything will ever beat Patterson-Rademacher................Olympic champion gets a heavy title shot in his first fight........

Shocking............