Paul Briggs (boxer) explained

Paul Briggs
Nationality:Australian
Realname:Paul Briggs
Nickname:Hurricane
Weight:Light Heavyweight
Birth Date:1975 8, df=yes
Birth Place:Christchurch, New Zealand
Reach:71abbr=onNaNabbr=on
Height:5feet
Style:Orthodox
Total:30
Wins:26
Ko:18
Losses:4
Draws:0
No Contests:0

Paul Briggs (born 13 August 1975) is an Australian former boxer. He was a highly ranked contender in the light heavyweight division. He is most known for being knocked out in just 30 seconds into his fight against Danny Green in what bookies and betting agencies called a "one punch fixed fight"[1]

Biography

Kickboxing era

Paul "Hurricane" Briggs' career began with kick boxing at a young age, turning professional by the age of 15. By the age of 17, Briggs was accomplished enough to challenge Thai kick boxer, Jomhod Sor Chid Lata, for the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) title. Briggs spent the next two years training in Thailand with the very man who defeated him. This training propelled Briggs to the WKA World Championship.

Briggs soon tired of international kickboxing competition. He quit competing and began working as a DJ.

Professional boxing

In November 1999, Paul Briggs began boxing. Over the course of 5 years, Briggs compiled a 23-1 (17 KO's) record, leading to a WBC No. 1 rating and a WBC Light Heavyweight World Championship fight against Tomasz Adamek, who at the time, had 28 wins and no losses.

First fight with Adamek

On 21 May 2005 in Chicago Briggs lost to Adamek in a majority decision. The fight was described by some as one of the most brutal in recent memory, as Briggs suffered a large cut above his left eye early in the fight and Adamek bled profusely from his nose for much of the fight, as well. Adamek tended to be the aggressor, though Briggs displayed an excellent defence as well as flashes of power that, at times, staggered Adamek. Both fighters won subsequent tune-up fights and were contracted to a rematch.

Rematch with Adamek

The rematch took place on 6 October 2006. Adamek came in a heavy favourite. Briggs was coming in with a new trainer, Johnny Lewis. The rematch would be the same as the first fight, action packed and very entertaining. Briggs seemed to be getting outboxed in the first round until he unleashed a heavy left hook to Adamek's jaw which dropped the champion. Adamek managed to get up and continue and survived the round. Again Briggs was cut in the second round. It appeared to be from a punch and it also appeared to be in a bad spot: over his left eye. Johnny Lewis managed to stop the bleeding for most of the fight and the cut was not a major factor. Briggs showed more aggression this time around and made it a very close fight. A case could have been made for either fighter winning. But in the end it came down to another majority decision which Adamek won yet again. Many who watched the fight have stated although Adamek seemed to be the busier of the two, his punches were ineffective and landed mostly on the arms and gloves of Briggs.

After Adamek

After the second loss to Adamek, Briggs decided against a third match, stating he wanted to go for new opponents:

I'm not hanging them up. I can fight and I am exciting to watch. Jim Lampley and lots of other people are telling me it was the best combined 24 rounds they have ever seen. There are some good things for me over here now (America). I am building a great fan base now, even though I am not winning.

After the fight, Don King said he supported Briggs and wanted to see him back.

Retirement

After the Adamek fight, Briggs had one more fight, winning a 12-round UD over South African Rupert van Aswegen. Briggs injured his ankle one day before the bout, and fought what he called the worst performance of his career. He was to continue fighting but when back in training, he started having serious problems. He had scans done and it was revealed he had problems with his nervous system. Briggs was thought to have gotten past his problems, and relocated back to the Gold Coast where he began working with a new trainer. He also revealed he was moving down to the super-middleweight division and challenged fellow Australian Anthony Mundine to a fight. A couple of weeks into training however Briggs again had problems, and on the advice of his new trainer, retired from the sport. Briggs is currently located on the Gold Coast, and frequently commentates boxing matches on Fox Sports and Mainevent.

Return to the ring

On 21 July 2010, Briggs returned to the ring in Perth to take on Danny Green for the IBO cruiserweight title. Before the bout Green labelled Briggs "unprofessional" after the latter weighed in nearly 4 kg over the agreed-upon weight. The ensuing fight was seen as a "farce", with Briggs collapsing after 29 seconds following an innocuous left jab by Green, his second in the fight, which appears to have at most brushed the top of Briggs' head. Briggs was subsequently booed out of the stadium by irate fans, and had to be protected by management from projected missiles being thrown at him. In a post-bout interview Green apologised to fans who had paid to attend. Online bookmaker Centrebet labelled the bout "highly, highly dubious" following a massive betting plunge shortly before the fight. The fight had been due to be held in Sydney but was moved at the last minute after the New South Wales Combat Sports Authority refused to commission the bout claiming Briggs was "unfit" to fight.

The Western Australian Combat Sports Commission later fined Briggs $75,000 and cancelled his registration as a boxer in Western Australia. They found that he had withheld the complete picture of his medical condition. They also passed evidence to the police that the Sword Boys criminal gang had bet $100,000 on a first-round KO. Paul Briggs disputed "100 per cent" the findings of the commission.[2] [3]

Autobiography

During the lead up to the first Adamek fight, Briggs co-authored, with Gregor Salmon, an autobiography Heart, Soul, Fire: The Journey of Paul Briggs (2005), detailing his rise to success as an international kick boxer, his descent into organised crime, drugs and violence, and ultimately his rise back to respectability and dominance in international boxing.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
30Loss26–4 Danny GreenKO1 (12), 21 Jul 2010
29Win26–3 Rupert van AswegenUD124 Feb 2007
28Loss25–3 Tomasz AdamekMD127 Oct 2006
27Win25–2 Jose Alberto Clavero5 (10), 16 Jun 2006
26Win24–2 Etianne WhitakerKO5 (10), 15 Oct 2005
25Loss23–2 Tomasz AdamekMD1221 May 2005
24Win23–1 Stipe DrewsUD1215 Aug 2004
23Win22–1 Jesus RuizUD127 Mar 2004
22Win21–1 Juan Eduardo ZabalaRTD5 (10), 31 Oct 2003
21Win20–1 Jorge Castro1013 Apr 2003
20Win19–1 Brad McNeilTKO1 (8), 19 Jan 2003
19Win18–1 Anthony BigeniTKO1 (10)6 Dec 2002
18Win17–1 Glen KellyTKO4 (12)18 Sep 2002
17Win16–1 Seiaute Ma'ilata TKO4 (12)7 Jun 2002
16Win15–1 Kariz KariukiTKO4 (12)9 May 2002
15Win14–1 Paul SmallmanTKO4 (12)4 Mar 2002
14Win13–1 James GreenTKO3 (4), 10 Nov 2001
13Win12–1 Gurkan Ozkan88 Sep 2001
12Win11–1 Jeff TupuTKO2 (12)8 Jul 2001
11Win10–1 Sam LeuiiKO2 (10)16 Mar 2001
10Win9–1 Shane DaltonTKO2 (6)25 Feb 2001
9Win8–1 Ken SuavineTKO2 (10)23 Feb 2001
8Win7–1 Adrian Bellin7 (12), 24 Nov 2000
7Win6–1 Tosca PetridisTKO1 (10), 6 Oct 2000
6Win5–1 Daniel Roswell5 (12)28 Jul 2000
5Win4–1 Jamie WallaceTKO3 (8)30 Jun 2000
4Win3–1 Mosese SoroviTKO7 (10)5 May 2000
3Win2–1 Ken Suavine4 (8)29 Nov 1999
2Loss1–1 Larl Zada3 (10)4 Jan 1997
1Win1–0 Ronald Doo1019 Jun 1994

Partial Kickboxing record

|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 1999-12-24 || Win ||align=left| Noboru Uchida || MAJKF "Tornado Warning -The Invasion of Tornado!!-」 || Japan || TKO(Second stoppage) || 4 || 0:00|- bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 1996 || Loss ||align=left| Stéphane Nikiéma || Conrad Jupiters Cup, Gold Coast || Australia || KO (Knee) || 1 || |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"| 1993-12-05 || Win ||align=left| Taiei Kin || Revenge || Melbourne, Australia || KO (Right knee) || 1 || 2:55|- bgcolor="#FFBBBB"| 1994-03-26 || Loss ||align=left| Jom Hod Sor Chid Lata || Festival Hall, Brisbane || Australia || KO (Left low kick) || 2 || |-! style=background:white colspan=9 ||-|-| colspan=9 | Legend:

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sports News and Results The Courier Mail. 2021-01-10. www.couriermail.com.au.
  2. News: Boxer Paul Briggs fined in fight farce. 4 November 2010. AM. ABC Online. 17 November 2010.
  3. News: Green cleared, Briggs banned over fight farce. WAToday.com.au. Fairfax Digital. 3 November 2010. 17 November 2010.