1. He should fight Zoltan Petranyi ( 51-20-0 / 16 KO's ), who is rated at #53 by BoxRec. Should be an easy fight for Shannon, thus moving up a few notches.
2. Next up, softy Fabio Moli ( 44-9-0 / 29 KO's ), who is rated at #48 by BoxRec. A bit tougher fight, but Briggs should come out victorious, moving up a few more notches in the ratings.
3. Land a fight with Francesco Pianeta ( 30-1-1 / 17 KO's ), who is rated #18 by BoxRec. Why he is ranked so high, I'm not sure. He might be a really good test for Shannon, but if you want a heavyweight title shot, at some point, you have to earn it.
4. Lastly, Briggs should take on #16 rated Erkan Teper ( 13-0-0 / 9 KO's ), another slightly obscure heavyweight. If he beats Tupperware Teper, then that should vault Briggs into the top 10 on BoxRec, and thus making him a legitimate contender for one of the heavyweight titles.
This, in my eyes, would be one of the best ways for Briggs to get there, with minimal risk, and at the same time prove that he is worthy. Who do you think Briggs should fight to make him a legit contender again?
Where have you been the last 20 years? Briggs could be mysteriously ranked number #4 by a sanctioning body tomorrow after knocking out Jeff Lacey.