Think this is clever matchmaking. The casuals will lap it all up and Briggs will be able to perform in the press conferences etc. Hearn needs this because AJ is less interesting than herpes. Whyte sold the last fight and Eddie realised that first and foremost he needs a live opponent at the press conference. Having said that a past it Briggs could cause AJ problems if he catches him but expect AJ to win by KO and the casual fanboys will say that he's a beast and #chat****getbanged etc.
The casual fans will be fed the line that Vitali couldn't stop him, he's a former champ, fought Lennox and beat George Foreman etc etc etc. The matchmaking isn't PPV but Brigg's mouth is and that's what Eddie needs and AJ lacks.
The reality is, he'll be 45 years old and hasn't been in a meaningful fight for FIVE years! He was dominated in that fight, so there was little to suggest he is relevant. Prior to that fight he'd not been in a relevant fight for THREE years! Then there's the drug (asthma) use! As you say, it'll be PPV for his mouth - all the wrong reasons!
Good sales fight, a very good name to get on record and in terms of rankings it would do him good too. Not the best fight but it could be an awful lot worse in my opinion.
On the face of it this is an odd, lackluster fight, but AJ might actually learn something from it. He has had it all his own way up until the Whyte fight and in that fight he fought on emotion early on and was caught. Whilst i expect AJ to dominate Briggs, he will have to stick to a game plan and not be too gung-ho due to Briggs' power. Briggs should also take AJ rounds. This won't really do much for his ranking, but i don't imagine that that is the point of the fight. Briggs is a name, the Americans know him and he can sell a fight. It will also be a fight that will make AJ think, not because it is hard to out box Briggs, but because Briggs is durable and because of his power, AJ will have to be wary of what is coming back at him.
Femi hits harder and maybe faster than comeback Vitali, but overall that Vitali is still better, more rounded and solid. Briggs is six years older from the beat down he took in 2010, would be amazed if he did not get stopped quicker than Whyte and I don't see Briggs rocking Femi to his boots like Whyte did. All it would be would be a payday.
Excellent fight for Joshua. He can practice scientific boxing and stamina with a guy who is credible, powerful and experienced but there to be outboxed.
Come on IB, Briggs power is far more proven than Gary Cornish. You were trying to tell us big gaz hit harder than Whyte? Briggs would ko Cornish in less than 1 round as well!
The problem with AJ is that Eddie has said that he wants all of AJ's fights to be PPV. This makes it harder to match him when he's not ready for world title shots.
AJ won't play second fiddle. Has set up his own company for the PPV and his ego won't allow him to be an undercard fighter. Like he said to Whyte..."you're lucky to be on my undercard". He won't want to be on anyone else's undercard. It will be PPV like all of his fights until he gets found out but Eddie will have to look for opponents who can sell fights as AJ is just too dull.
Aj is a sh it actor You can tell he likes to have smoke blown up his ass Probably surrounded him self with yes men to