BRIGGS IN HOSPITAL.

[gobbles]

Ian John-Lewis is a good ref, Briggs has a corner to pull him out

Rubbish. The referee's job is to protect the fighter. Corners are too emotional and too close. Ian John-Lewis did not even consult the ringside doctor. He's always far too interested in how he looks in the ring that actually taking a dispassionate view of the action.

[whiskey]

Great courage, guts and toughness were on display last night...

..by Shannon's corner.

b*stards.

[brian13]

Ian John-Lewis is a good ref, Briggs has a corner to pull him out

That is a load of crap. A referee's job is to save a fighter from unessescary damage. Did Ian John Lewis do that? NO, Shannon Briggs is in an Intensive Care Unit in Germany because of the actions of Ian John Lewis and Briggs's corner. Ian John Lewis should be suspended as a referee for a few months and have his licence reviewed. Briggs's cornermen should be given lengthy bans aswell.

[Craig14]

Great courage, guts and toughness were on display last night...

..by Shannon's corner.

b*stards.

I don't think you can blame his corner.
It runs alot deeper than that.
if the powers that be allow title challenges like this to happen, well then bad things like this are going to happen - Briggs was never anygood and he got pummeled by Lewis 12 years ago, it's terrible what happened but the way boxing is Briggs could be fighting for another 'world title' in a couple of years, if your gonna call the cornermen bastards - then atleast call the promoters pudenda.

[matko]

Gutted always bin a big fan of shannon get weel soon champ

[Craig14]

Briggs said I've fought Foreman and Lewis and Vitali is better than both of them.
That says it all (or maybe he didn't know that Lewis beat Vitali)
Matko he was and will be an opponent.

[greenyox3]

The promoters don't come out of this smelling of roses IMO. Obviously they're in it to make money, but come on - this is boxing, people can get hurt. Briggs couldn't have lived with Klitschko at his peak, let alone now. Why have they made this fight?

I like the example Lou Di Bella set. When Jermaine Taylor got ko'd by Abraham, di Bella refused to promote him any more, for his own good.

[Jon Saxon]

Get well soon Shannon.

[Craig14]

Why are you talking like he's dieing? He's got torn bicep muscles and a broken nose.

[greenyox3]

Why are you talking like he's dieing? He's got torn bicep muscles and a broken nose.

Depends on which report you read. I saw somewhere that he was in "critical condition", but somewhere else that he's just done his bicep & fractured cheekbone.

[charlieb]

It's the bloody Klitschko style. Why risk throwing a finishing combo when you can throw shot after single shot without fear of a counter.

I tuned in from round 8 last night, was entirely certain the fight would be ended by the ref or corner in every round I watched. From what I saw I was expecting to read about Vitali being clobbered in the early rounds, why else would a man be allowed to endure round after round of punishment?

Apparently it was one-sided throughout though, which makes it all the more sickening.

[Craig14]

It's the bloody Klitschko style. Why risk throwing a finishing combo when you can throw shot after single shot without fear of a counter.

The last time Vitali took unnecessary risks in a fight he was comfortably winning, he was cut by a punch/clash of heads that didn't need to have happened - we all know what happened then. He learned from that. I like his style.

Unfortunatly his style is sh1t to watch.

[Craig14]

The last time Vitali took unnecessary risks in a fight he was comfortably winning, he was cut by a punch/clash of heads that didn't need to have happened - we all know what happened then. He learned from that. I like his style.

Unfortunatly his style is sh1t to watch.

In your opinion. I enjoy watching Vitali box; always have done. Okay, he's not often in 'life and death' struggles but that just goes to prove how much better he is than the rest.

I agree both brothers are better than any heavy in the world at the moment and I think both would beat haye, but they are part of the reason that heavyweight boxing has gone down the pan. I can't remember a time when I've least looked forward to a world heavyweight title fight (All of there defences) there styles are boring. They won't change coz there winning and why should they? But there legacy is Boredam.

[whicker]

Ian John-Lewis is a good ref, Briggs has a corner to pull him out

Exactly, it's a world heavyweight title fight.

Had he stopped it in, what, the 8th or 9th then the "but thats a full ten minutes Briggs could have had to throw a ko punch" arguements would have been put about.

[whicker]

Shannon Briggs is in an Intensive Care Unit in Germany because of the actions of Ian John Lewis and Briggs's corner.

What utter thoughtless nonsense.

Whilst some may argue there should have been a stoppage, putting direct blame on the ref or the corner in that way is absurd. Briggs is a professional boxer, after all, and this is a risk they all take.

If people are going to start blaming the ref , why not go the whole hog and blame the ref for allowing the fight to continue after the first punch was thrown? (In any fight.)

[crusader]

Ian John-Lewis is a good ref, Briggs has a corner to pull him out

Exactly, it's a world heavyweight title fight.

Had he stopped it in, what, the 8th or 9th then the "but thats a full ten minutes Briggs could have had to throw a ko punch" arguements would have been put about.

No they wouldn't have. Even before the fight no one gave Briggs a good chance of landing a KO punch. I believe the referee should have been stopped this one.

[whicker]

Ian John-Lewis is a good ref, Briggs has a corner to pull him out

Exactly, it's a world heavyweight title fight.

Had he stopped it in, what, the 8th or 9th then the "but thats a full ten minutes Briggs could have had to throw a ko punch" arguements would have been put about.

No they wouldn't have. Even before the fight no one gave Briggs a good chance of landing a KO punch. I believe the referee should have been stopped this one.

Possibly, and it's a valid opinion, but I feel the extent to which people are blaming the ref is unfair.

It can always be argued with fighters, especially heavyweights, that they "could have thrown the key punch". A counter arguement to a stoppage, not a definative one .

[Arnie]

Hope he gets well soon

[crusader]

Hope he gets well soon

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing ... NHeadlines

Sounds like he will. Here is an article originally posted by Datsue in the CS.

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....

Now, he is in Hamburg's Eppendorf University Hospital with a broken left orbital bone in his face, a broken nose and a torn left biceps, Empire Sports and Entertainment promoter Greg Cohen told ESPN.com....

Cohen said the biceps injury was the most severe....

"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."

[gobbles]

Ian John-Lewis is a good ref, Briggs has a corner to pull him out

Exactly, it's a world heavyweight title fight.

Had he stopped it in, what, the 8th or 9th then the "but thats a full ten minutes Briggs could have had to throw a ko punch" arguements would have been put about.

A full ten minutes to get life-changing brain damage. The ref's job is to protect the fighter. All IJL did on Saturday was jog on the spot and dramatically dive between the fighters at the end of each round

[ra2006]

Ian John-Lewis is a good ref, Briggs has a corner to pull him out

Totally agree. Briggs was too brave for his own good and the corner should have really pulled him out at the end of round 9, I would have if I was in his corner.


I hope Briggs will be back on his feet as soon as possible and wish him the best in his future media career!

[whicker]

A full ten minutes to get life-changing brain damage. The ref's job is to protect the fighter. All IJL did on Saturday was jog on the spot and dramatically dive between the fighters at the end of each round

The risk of brain damage is a risk all fighters take, at all times during a fight. Thats the nature of the sport, the risk.

The job of the ref is to stop the fight if he feels a fighter is in "no position to continue," and/or is not in a position to defend himself.

For sure, a lot of refs would have perhaps stopped this fight, but at te end of the day, IJL decided not to - it's a debatable decision, but not the "offence" some people are making it out to be.

[gobbles]

A full ten minutes to get life-changing brain damage. The ref's job is to protect the fighter. All IJL did on Saturday was jog on the spot and dramatically dive between the fighters at the end of each round

The risk of brain damage is a risk all fighters take, at all times during a fight. Thats the nature of the sport, the risk.

The job of the ref is to stop the fight if he feels a fighter is in "no position to continue," and/or is not in a position to defend himself.

For sure, a lot of refs would have perhaps stopped this fight, but at te end of the day, IJL decided not to - it's a debatable decision, but not the "offence" some people are making it out to be.

What a load of rubbish. Ever heard the phrase "to save him from unnecessary punishment"????

The risk of injury is far greater from continuous, sustained punishment than "at all times during a fight".

[banjo]

I blame the promoter and the WBC, it always was going to be a total mismatch.

[Hagler2002]

At least Audley will go to sleep when Haye hits him. The long term effects of the beating Briggs took will far out weigh the short term.