Great fight. Briggs took way more right hands than most people would. Lewis has a much better chin than some people claim. In the end Lewis had the better weapons.
100% the same, I agree. A lot of boxer's best qualities are also their biggest weakness and there's a fine line between self-belief and arrogance. Twice he crossed that line and paid the price. But self-belief enabled him to avenge the two times it cost him. Although the McCall rematch was so odd, it's hard to identify the manner by which Lewis would have won that without the mental breakdown of his opponent.
Hats off to Briggs...he knew his chance was to bomb lewis out and catch him off guard. went out on his shield, respect
Briggs at that time was a very dangerous fighter. Lewis's resume when all added up is extremely impressive
One of my faves from the late 90s. Shows: 1. How good a front-runner Briggs was. You can see exactly why is first and second round KO rate was so high 2. How masterful Lennox was once he adjusted to a particular style
Dammmmmmnnn what a fight. What a fight. My hats off to both of them for that beautiful battle. Lots of guts, grit and heart in this. Thanks for posting.
I think this fight wasn't as hard for Lennox as people are making it to be. Surely, Briggs hurt him with a left hook at the end of first round, but Lennox has shown excellent defensive moves, avoiding almost all of Briggs' 20+ punches he thrown after, except of one. Briggs rocked Lennox in the second round again, but from round 3 the fight has become completely one-sided. While physically Briggs could match Lewis (he was only 1 inch shorter, had quicker hands and comparable power), technically Lennox was on another level. I think Lennox could have beaten Briggs without any dangerous moments had he started the fight less aggressive. He probably thought that if Darrol Wilson knocked out Briggs so quickly and 49-years-old George Foreman arguably beat him, he won't have any problems in taking him out in the first 2-3 rounds. But Briggs, while beign inferior to Lennox technically, was talented guy with fast hands. He wasn't as uncoordinated as, for example, Michael Grant was. And, unlike Golota and Grant, who were VERY slow starters, Briggs was always very dangerous in the early rounds, scoring tons of first-rounds knockouts. So, it was probably a mistake from Lennox side trying to take Briggs out quickly, but, once again, I don't think he was close to losing this fight. And once Lennox started to box, the difference in skills has become obvious. Interesting, that Lewis credited Briggs as the hardest puncher he ever fought: BEST PUNCHER Shannon Briggs: He lacked endurance but Briggs certainly knew how to put his bodyweight behind a punch. Unfortunately for him you need the full package when you face me so power isn’t enough. Fans may expect me to say McCall or Hasim Rahman for punching power but I basically set myself up against both of them. I think Lennox was honest here - he didn't get hit by the big punches from Ruddock at all, Tua and Tyson hit him with a couple of glansing blows. And among the guys that hit him with the full power (Mercer, Vitali, Holyfield, Bruno, McCall, Rahman, Tucker, Mavrovic, Briggs) Briggs really looks the hardest puncher for me.
That's classic boxer behaviour, to say that a person they beat was 'the hardest pucher I ever faced'. Yet the people who actually knocked them out are conveniently not mentioned. It makes the boxer look better for overcoming a so called hard hitting opponent. That is how the legend of Earnie Shavers grew.