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Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1992 and 2016. He held the lineal heavyweight title from 1997 to 1998, and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title from 2006 to 2007. Nicknamed "the Cannon", Briggs was known for his formidable punching power and aggression, possessing an 88.3% knockout-to-win rate with 37 knockout wins in the first round.
As an amateur he sparred with Phil Jackson, who was a pro at that time, preparing to fight Donovan Ruddock. Brigg's lawyer and adviser (equivalent of pro's manager) at that time was Mike Marley, the ex-Post boxing writer. Marley later managed Briggs as a professional.
Pan American Games (heavyweight), Havana, Cuba, August 1991:
USA−Poland Duals (heavyweight), Bialystok, Poland, January 1992:
United States National Championships (heavyweight), Colorado Springs, Colorado, February 1992:
Briggs aimed to get a shot at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, but quit from the national olympic trials over a hand injury.
After capturing the WBA and IBF titles from Michael Moorer late in 1994, George Foreman forfeited both titles but retained the lineal championship and successfully defended that crown (as well as the lowly regarded WBU heavyweight title) against then-undefeated prospects Crawford Grimsley and Lou Savarese. Following his win over Savarese, Foreman fought Briggs.
The fight was controversial as Briggs ultimately picked up the victory by way of majority decision. Through the course of the fight, Foreman landed more punches and had a higher percentage of his punches land than Briggs. Foreman landed 284 of his 488 punches for a 58% success rate while Briggs landed 45% of his punches, going 223 for 494. Foreman made $5 million, whilst Briggs received a $400,000 purse.
Foreman spent much of the fight as the aggressor while Briggs spent a lot of the fight retreating. In the later rounds Foreman's power punches seemed to take a toll on the younger Briggs, as he began slowing down and all but abandoned his tactic of moving away from Foreman and was hit from some heavy shots as a result. In the 12th and final round, Foreman tried hard for a knockout victory and was able to break Briggs' nose but was unable to score a knockdown. As a result, the result went to the judge's scorecards.
One judge scored the fight a draw at 114–114, while the other two had the fight scored 116–112 and 117–113 in favor of Briggs, giving him both the majority decision win and the lineal heavyweight title. Briggs Wins, Crowd Boos and Foreman Says He Likely Won't Fight Again, N.Y. Times article, 1997-11-23, Retrieved on October 22, 2013
In the fifth round, Lewis knocked Briggs down for the third time with a powerful right hook at 1:09 into the round. Briggs lay flat on his back for five seconds but got back up at the count of eight and continued with the fight. After Briggs collapsed to the mat following a missed left hook, referee Frank Cappuccino stopped the fight and awarded Lewis the victory by technical knockout. Lewis Gets No Glory Points In Knocking Out Briggs, N.Y. Times article, 1998-03–29, Retrieved on June 10, 2013 Lewis earned $4 million compared to Briggs $1 million. In 2015, Lewis stated that Briggs had the fastest hands and best punching power of any opponent he ever faced.Gray, Tom. Best I Faced: Lennox Lewis. The Ring. May 4, 2018.
Briggs fought in Panama against Zoltan Petranyi, knocking him out in round 1. Following the fight, former cruiserweight world champion Guillermo Jones came into the ring to confront Briggs, demanding he fight him next. At this time, Briggs was chasing a fight with then unified and lineal world champion Wladimir Klitschko and told Jones, he would fight him after he fought Klitschko. Neither fight took place in the future. Briggs gained some notoriety over videos he released of himself harassing Klitschko, particularly at sea, as the latter was paddleboarding.
Despite winning on the undercard, a fight between Briggs and Haye didn't materialize. Brigg's continued to call out Haye, asking him to honor his end of the agreement. Briggs also chased Haye down in Brooklyn when both were in attendance for the Carl Frampton vs. Santa Cruz fight. In October, Haye spoke out about the fight not taking place due to the fact that Briggs wanted the fight to be on ppv, “Because the fight can’t happen on pay-per-view ... I like people thinking I’m running from him and ducking him because when I do get in the ring with him, which I really think I will do, I think it will make it a bigger fight. But at the moment the fight can’t happen because he will only fight me if the fight is on pay-per-view. I would fight him on UK DAVE, but he doesn't want to do that.”
On November 22, VADA informed the WBC that Browne had failed a second drug test in the space of six months. After being tested positive for banned substance clenbuterol ahead of his March fight with Ruslan Chagaev, Browne this time tested positive for Enobosarm, a stamina-increasing substance.
On December 26, 2016 Alexander Ustinov's manager Vladimir Hryunov announced that he would be fighting for the WBA 'Regular' title on February 25, 2017, against either Briggs or Fres Oquendo. Oquendo's trainer Nate Jones later confirmed a fight with Briggs was in the works. On January 4, 2017, the WBA ordered for a deal to be reached between Briggs and Oquendo within 30 days or they would force a purse bid. Briggs told Sky Sports he wanted the fight to take place in the UK, after his increasing fan base, mostly due to Briggs spending a lot of time there pursuing a fight with David Haye.
A deal wasn't reached by February 2 and the WBA ordered a purse bid to take place on February 13, 2017. Although some promoters were interested in the fight, there were issues raised around the minimum bid of $1 million, being too high. A bid of $400,000 was made by The Heavyweight Factory representative Henry Rivalta, on behalf of Briggs however not being valid due to not meeting the minimum requirement. The WBA ordered another purse bid to take place on February 23.
On February 23, Square Ring Promotions and Hitz Entertainment Corporation announced that a deal had been reached for the Briggs vs. Oquendo fight. CEO of Square Ring Promotions John Wirt told World Boxing News, “We are really excited that we were able to reach an agreement with Kris Lawrence and Henry Rivalta of The Heavyweight Factory.” On March 16, Briggs announced via his Social media accounts, the fight would take place June 3, 2017 at the Hard Rock Hollywood in Florida. The fight was being billed as "Backyard Brawl".
On July 20, 2017, Briggs was suspended for six months by the WBA and is expected to lose his #3 position in the WBA rankings. He will also likely drop out of the top 15.
After a back and forth over some years, Briggs and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Rampage Jackson were aiming to have an exhibition boxing match in 2024. Briggs began making some noise again in 2025, when he announced a ring return to take place in Nashville, Tennessee on July 1, 2025. Jimmy Adams. the promoter of the card, hinted Briggs could fight former world champion, Oliver McCall. In an interview, Briggs himself mentioned Deontay Wilder as potential opponent. His return was scheduled to take place on the CountryBox: Where Music Meets Boxing event. During fight week, Brigg's was taken off the card and replaced by Evander Holyfield's son Evan Holyfield.
Briggs also made an appearance on the Fugees' breakthrough album, The Score. He appears in the music video for rapper Thirstin Howl III's song "Surrounded By Criminals" (from his 2011 album Natural Born Skiller).
Shannon Briggs was summoned to US Federal Court District South Carolina on June 7, 2012, according to court documents Kali Bowyer, Briggs' ex-publicist, was awarded over $420,000.00 plus interest for her services.
On March 20, 2019, Briggs and Applied BioSciences had agreed a partnership deal. Applied BioSciences, a cannabinoid therapeutics company, focused on medical, bioceutical, testing and pet health industries. Briggs stated, “I have partnered with Applied BioSciences to develop and market Champ Organics because their products are made with the highest quality ingredients and all-natural CBD. I am a firm believer in the benefits that CBD delivers for joint pain and headaches. Since I have incorporated CBD to my daily supplements, I have been surprised by the positive impact it has had on my overall quality of life.”
In the fall of 2019, Shannon Briggs became the trainer for internet superstar Logan Paul for his rematch against fellow internet superstar KSI. The bout went the distance and KSI was awarded the split decision victory. Briggs became a well known figure in the influencer boxing scene, with his catchphrase "let's go champ" being the subject of several viral memes.
| 68 | Win | Emilio Zarate | KO | 1 (10), | May 21, 2016 | |||
| 67 | Win | 59–6–1 | Michael Marrone | KO | 2 (10), | Sep 5, 2015 | ||
| 66 | Win | 58–6–1 | Zoltan Petranyi | KO | 1 (10), | Mar 27, 2015 | ||
| 65 | Win | 57–6–1 | Richard Carmack | KO | 1 (10), | Nov 1, 2014 | ||
| 64 | Win | 56–6–1 | Cory Phelps | TKO | 1 (10), | Aug 23, 2014 | ||
| 63 | Win | 55–6–1 | Raphael Zumbano Love | UD | 12 | Jun 28, 2014 | ||
| 62 | Win | 54–6–1 | Matthew Greer | TKO | 1 (10), | May 17, 2014 | ||
| 61 | Win | 53–6–1 | Francisco Mireles | KO | 1 (10), | Apr 19, 2014 | ||
| 60 | Win | 52–6–1 | Maurenzo Smith | KO | 1 (10), | Apr 11, 2014 | ||
| 59 | Loss | 51–6–1 | Vitali Klitschko | UD | 12 | Oct 16, 2010 | ||
| 58 | Win | 51–5–1 | Rob Calloway | TKO | 1 (10), | May 28, 2010 | ||
| 57 | Win | 50–5–1 | Dominique Alexander | TKO | 1 (10), | May 21, 2010 | ||
| 56 | Win | 49–5–1 | Rafael Pedro | KO | 1 (10), | Apr 13, 2010 | ||
| 55 | 48–5–1 | Marcus McGee | KO | 1 (8), | Dec 3, 2009 | |||
| 54 | Loss | 48–5–1 | Sultan Ibragimov | UD | 12 | Jun 2, 2007 | ||
| 53 | Win | 48–4–1 | Siarhei Liakhovich | TKO | 12 (12), | Nov 4, 2006 | ||
| 52 | Win | 47–4–1 | Chris Koval | RTD | 3 (12), | May 24, 2006 | ||
| 51 | Win | 46–4–1 | Dicky Ryan | KO | 4 (12), | Mar 18, 2006 | ||
| 50 | Win | 45–4–1 | Luciano Zolyone | KO | 1 (12), | Dec 10, 2005 | ||
| 49 | Win | 44–4–1 | Brian Scott | KO | 1 (10), | Nov 26, 2005 | ||
| 48 | Win | 43–4–1 | Ray Mercer | KO | 7 (10), | Aug 26, 2005 | ||
| 47 | Win | 42–4–1 | Abraham Okine | TKO | 3 (10), | Jun 10, 2005 | ||
| 46 | Win | 41–4–1 | Demetrice King | TKO | 2 (6), | Mar 3, 2005 | ||
| 45 | Win | 40–4–1 | Jeff Pegues | TKO | 1 (10), | Mar 6, 2004 | ||
| 44 | Win | 39–4–1 | Wade Lewis | TKO | 3 (8) | Aug 28, 2003 | ||
| 43 | Win | 38–4–1 | John Sargent | TKO | 1 (12), | Jul 19, 2003 | ||
| 42 | Win | 37–4–1 | Marvin Hill | TKO | 1 (10), | Mar 27, 2003 | ||
| 41 | Loss | 36–4–1 | Jameel McCline | UD | 10 | Apr 27, 2002 | ||
| 40 | Win | 36–3–1 | Reynaldo Minus | KO | 1 (8), | Dec 1, 2001 | ||
| 39 | Win | 35–3–1 | Jason Waller | TKO | 1 (10), | Oct 19, 2001 | ||
| 38 | Win | 34–3–1 | Russell Chasteen | KO | 1 (10), | Apr 7, 2001 | ||
| 37 | Win | 33–3–1 | Eric Curry | KO | 1 (10), | Nov 2, 2000 | ||
| 36 | Loss | 32–3–1 | Sedreck Fields | MD | 8 | Apr 27, 2000 | ||
| 35 | Win | 32–2–1 | Warren Williams | TKO | 3 (10), | Feb 24, 2000 | ||
| 34 | Draw | 31–2–1 | Francois Botha | 10 | Aug 7, 1999 | |||
| 33 | Win | 31–2 | Marcus Rhode | TKO | 1 (10), | Dec 8, 1998 | ||
| 32 | Loss | 30–2 | Lennox Lewis | TKO | 5 (12), | Mar 28, 1998 | ||
| 31 | Win | 30–1 | George Foreman | 12 | Nov 22, 1997 | |||
| 30 | Win | 29–1 | Jorge Valdes | 9 (10), | Jun 24, 1997 | |||
| 29 | Win | 28–1 | Melton Bowen | TKO | 1 (10), | Apr 15, 1997 | ||
| 28 | Win | 27–1 | Eric French | TKO | 2 (8), | Feb 21, 1997 | ||
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Tim Ray | KO | 1 (10) | Sep 25, 1996 | ||
| 26 | Loss | 25–1 | Darroll Wilson | TKO | 3 (10), | Mar 15, 1996 | ||
| 25 | Win | 25–0 | Calvin Jones | TKO | 1 (10), | Dec 15, 1995 | ||
| 24 | Win | 24–0 | Sherman Griffin | TKO | 1 (10), | Sep 22, 1995 | ||
| 23 | Win | 23–0 | Will Hinton | TKO | 1 (8), | Aug 25, 1995 | ||
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Marion Wilson | PTS | 8 | Mar 24, 1995 | ||
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Craig Payne | UD | 8 | Jan 13, 1995 | ||
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Mike Faulkner | KO | 2 | Oct 21, 1994 | ||
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Mark Young | TKO | 8 (8), | Aug 26, 1994 | ||
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Exum Speight | TKO | 1 | Aug 4, 1994 | ||
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Jimmy Ellis | TKO | 1 (8), | Mar 12, 1994 | ||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Mike Faulkner | KO | 6 (6), | Feb 20, 1994 | ||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Danny Wofford | 6 | Dec 9, 1993 | |||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Tim Noble | TKO | 3 (6), | Nov 10, 1993 | ||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Danny Blake | PTS | 6 | Jul 10, 1993 | ||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Bruce Johnson | TKO | 1 (6), | May 22, 1993 | ||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Ron Gullette | TKO | 1 (6), | Mar 25, 1993 | ||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Robert Pagan Perez | KO | 1 | Dec 9, 1992 | ||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Rocky Bentley | 4 | Dec 4, 1992 | |||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Rick Honeycutt | TKO | 1 | Nov 21, 1992 | ||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Tony Simpson | TKO | 1 | Nov 13, 1992 | ||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Donnie Penelton | KO | 1 | Oct 29, 1992 | ||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Juan Quintana | 3, | Oct 9, 1992 | |||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Greg Santos | KO | 1 | Sep 19, 1992 | ||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Ed Carlson | KO | 1 (4) | Aug 28, 1992 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Cedric Sims | KO | 1 (4) | Aug 6, 1992 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | John Basil Jackson | 1 (4), | Jul 24, 1992 |
| Documentary, EP Welcome to the Sewer |
| EP Knock You Out |
| Documentary |
| Guest on Talk Show |
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