Full details on Briggs' condition / corner, ref should've pulled him out

^This is the straight truth.

The fight should have been stopped after the 7th. No man can take the kind of shots Briggs was getting hit with for 12 rds without some devastating cumulative effects. I hope he's okay for the longterm.

 

In retrospect...what Kevin Johnson did was not that bad... If you are not going to mount any type of offense you may as well not get hit in the process.

The guy basically wasn't touched in 12 rounds...

 

It was a HW title fight, people get bashed up, end of.

 

"His biceps is a very serious injury and they have to do surgery, and he'll probably be there for a week," Cohen said. "It might require more than one surgery."

Cohen said rumors that Briggs, 38, had suffered a brain hemorrhage were not true and that he was resting at the hospital and had even joked around with him before he left Germany.

"I wouldn't be here [in New York] if he wasn't OK," Cohen said. "He was in intensive care after the fight for precautionary reasons. The injuries are not life-threatening. He's just banged up, but it's not life-threatening or very serious. Other than the injuries I described, everything else is OK."


http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/box...=ESPNHeadlines"

 

I saw a fighter get killed in the ring once and when I read the news about Briggs it made me very depressed, but I understand why Briggs was to determined. Ask Joe Frazier how he feels about his fight being stopped. Frazier would rather have died. They thought Briggs had bleeding on the brain, but so far it appears he will be OK. Also read that Briggs suffered a broken jaw and busted ear drum. British referee should have stopped it. I hope Briggs will be OK and would like to see him fight again. Vitali is just an unusually talented fighter and is better than ever. Just because Briggs lost has nothing to do with how good Briggs really was. Briggs showed the best stamina in his entire career, he really tried, was in great shape. He would have killed Haye and probably most top ten heavies. He can make some waves now, if only he gets well, which I think he will. A Briggs like that is a very dangerous fighter. Vitali hits extremely hard, Hell, the punches were almost hurting me and I was just watching the fight. How he continued? He really wanted to win and never gave up. I have great respect for Briggs. I know of nobody today who could have taken such punches!

 

If he wanted to win, he shouldve thrown that right hand everytime vit comes in. He was just out there getting hit and not throwing punches.

 

Actually I don't think he does. He's just sorry he didn't get the stoppage on his record and that's the difference between Wlad and Vitali. The elder Klitschko is a mean spirited killer while Wlad is a competitive sportsman. Vitali probably wants to give Haye twice as much punishment but chances are Haye would have succumbed long before the 12th if he ever mans up enough to step inside the ring.

 

Farmboxer, you hit the nail. to be honest, i'm slightly ignoring your posts for few years, when reading the forum, but today i have to say, you know your boxing ! :good
Hope to see Shannon fully recovered.

 

The only people to blame for this are the WBC. Look at Briggs's comp over the last couple of years. Absolutely woeful. Laughable. A complete joke. There was absolutely no justification whatsoever for making this contest. A 38 year old asthmatic small-hall fighter feasting on bums with more losses than wins, deserves a title shot at one of the most fearsome heavyweight champions of modern times??? An utter disgrace. Shame on those who sanctioned this farce.

 

The truth is that Briggs wouldn't have it any other way. A shot at the title, and he lost. Don't feel sorry for him...he lived his dream. The reports of Briggs suffering damage to the brain are untrue...

 

If it were Vitali Muhammad, you wouldn't be so kind.

 

I bet you are one of the people who thinks holyfield should be banned from boxing. My perspective is that if a fighter is old and it's their last chance, if they choose to risk their life to win the title in what may be their last fight, they should have the right to do that.

If it's a young fighter then I can agree, pull them out so they can continue their career and fight another day, but when a fighter is almost 40, this is probably going to be his last payday, his last big fight, his last chance, you pull a fighter out in the wrong way and they could end up messed up in the head in that they got pulled out of their last big fight.

You have to consider a fighters age and future opportunities, and you have to consider whether or not it's a championship fight. I don't think you should pull an old fighter out of a championship fight unless the old fighter gives up or the ref stops it.

This might be perceived as brutal, and several boxers might die, but this is the only way to convince old boxers to retire when they get old. Some fighters always planned to fight to the death or win the championship, you pull them out and it's one of the worst things you can do to them in life, then you have other boxers who don't need any more money and who have accomplished all they wanted to accomplish, like a Mayweather or Roy Jones Jr, these sorts of fighters you pull out because theres something else they can do with their lives besides keep fighting.