Lennox Lewis has shared the ring with the greatest heavyweights of his generation.
During an illustrious professional career stretching from 1989 to 2003, ‘The Lion’ defeated Hall of Fame inductees Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Vitali Klitschko, who all carried an almighty punch in their primes.
But it was one boxer who didn’t quite reach the same lofty heights as the aforementioned that stood out to Lewis as the hardest hitter he had ever faced.
“He lacked endurance but Briggs certainly knew how to put his bodyweight behind a punch,” Lewis told Ring Magazine in 2015.
“Unfortunately for him, you need the full package when you face me so power isn’t enough.
“Fans may expect me to say [Oliver] McCall or Hasim Rahman (both KO’d Lewis) for punching power but I basically set myself up against both of them…
“I was surprised by Briggs’ hand speed. He was able to close the gap very quickly and that allowed him to get off the big punches.
“Sometimes you don’t realize how quick someone is until you’re in there.”
Lewis may have been surprised by Shannon Briggs‘ hands but his record tells you everything you need to know about ‘The Cannon’s’ uncanny ability to render his opponents unconscious.
The former WBO and lineal heavyweight champion boasts a remarkable 88.3 per cent knockout-to-win percentage with 53 stoppages from 60 victories (60-6-1-1).
He also holds the record for the most first-round KOs in professional boxing history, with 37 coming inside the opening stanza.
When he squared off against Lewis in 1998, Briggs was coming fresh off a controversial win over an ageing George Foreman via majority decision.
The victory had earned him the lineal heavyweight crown, having beaten the man who beat the man.
In this instance, Foreman had flattened Michael Moorer for the intangible title, as well as the WBC and IBF straps, in 1994 at 45 years old to become the oldest heavyweight champion of all time.
By the time, he boxed Briggs, Foreman had been stripped of the WBC and IBF titles.
But he got the chance to fight for the latter against Lewis, who had picked up the green and gold strap by stopping Oliver McCall in a bizarre fight a year prior.
Briggs got off to a good start, rocking Lewis with a check left hook in the opening round that caused the champion to stagger backwards into the ropes.
Miraculously, Lewis survived the subsequent onslaught which saw him get battered from pillar to post before eventually being saved by the bell.
In the proceeding rounds, Lewis – known for having a suspect gas tank – began to slow down while Lewis upped the intensity.
This resulted in Lewis breaking down Briggs en route to a fifth-round stoppage win.
But the boxing icon had to come through serious adversity to get there, and that is to Briggs’ credit.
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