Ukraine’s WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko will be beaten so badly next Saturday in Hamburg that he will be forced to retire, said American challenger Shannon Briggs on Monday.
Briggs, the WBO champion from 2006-7 and with a record of 51 victories, with 45 inside the distance including a record 27 stopped in the first round, five defeats and one no contest, said that Vitali had made a bad choice in selecting him as his opponent.
“I really feel for you,” the 38-year-old said, addressing Klitschko at their joint press conference.
“But you have made a bad choice: you are going to meet an adversary that you have never met before. I can hit, box and dodge my opponent’s punches.”
Briggs, who claims he has shed nearly 40 kilogrammes for the bout - even going as far as tearing off his t-shirt to prove it, said that after he had dispensed with Vitali he would take on his younger brother Vladimir, the WBO and IBF world champion.
“I have never prepared so well for a bout,” he said.
“When I have finished with Vitali, they can bring on Vladimir immediately,” added Briggs, who has challenged for the WBC belt before when he lost to Lennox Lewis in 1998.
Klitschko tried to intervene on several occasions at the press conference but Briggs steadfastly refused to give way and the 39-year-old Ukrainian was only able to speak after the American - who has supplemented his income with supporting roles in several Hollywood films - had walked out of the room.
“It is not easy to find an adversary for me or my brother. Shannon accepted immediately to fight me and I thank him for that,” said Klitschko, who has held the title since October 2008 on his return after a four year hiatus.
“But when I hear him say he is going to propel me into retirement, that just makes me laugh.
“I am ready and I am going to show that I deserve to wear this belt which has been worn by (Mike) Tyson, (Lennox) Lewis and Muhammad Ali,” added Klitschko, whose overall record stands at just two defeats in 42 bouts.
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