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Paul Briggs (boxer)

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Paul Briggs
Born
Paul Briggs

(1975-08-13) 13 August 1975 (age 49)
Christchurch, New Zealand
NationalityAustralia
Other namesHurricane
Statistics
Weight(s)Light Heavyweight
Height5 ft 11+1⁄2 in (182 cm)
Reach71 in (180 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights30
Wins26
Wins by KO18
Losses4
Draws0
No contests0

Paul Briggs (born 13 August 1975) is an Australian 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[citation needed]

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",[5] 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.[5] Online bookmaker Centrebet labelled the bout "highly, highly dubious" following a massive betting plunge shortly before the fight.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8][9]

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),[10] 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

30 fights 26 wins 4 losses
By knockout 18 2
By decision 7 2
By disqualification 1 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
30 Loss 26–4 Australia Danny Green KO 1 (12), 0:29 21 Jul 2010 Australia Challenge Stadium, Perth, Western Australia For IBO cruiserweight title
29 Win 26–3 South Africa Rupert van Aswegen UD 12 4 Feb 2007 Australia State Sports Centre, Sydney, New South Wales For vacant IBF Australasian light heavyweight title
28 Loss 25–3 Poland Tomasz Adamek MD 12 7 Oct 2006 United States Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois, US For WBC light heavyweight title
27 Win 25–2 Argentina Jose Alberto Clavero DQ 5 (10), 0:28 16 Jun 2006 Australia Sleeman Sports Complex Arena, Chandler, Queensland Corner refused to continue when ordered to
26 Win 24–2 United States Etianne Whitaker KO 5 (10), 1:56 15 Oct 2005 Germany Mehrzweckhalle Süd, Düsseldorf, Germany
25 Loss 23–2 Poland Tomasz Adamek MD 12 21 May 2005 United States United Center, Chicago, Illinois, US For vacant WBC light heavyweight title
25 Win 23–1 Croatia Stipe Drews UD 12 15 Aug 2004 Australia State Sports Centre, Sydney, New South Wales WBC Light heavyweight title eliminator.
24 Win 22–1 Mexico Jesus Ruiz UD 12 7 Mar 2004 Australia Panthers World of Entertainment, Penrith, New South Wales
23 Win 21–1 Argentina Juan Eduardo Zabala RTD 5 (10), 3:00 31 Oct 2003 Australia Panthers World of Entertainment, Penrith, New South Wales
22 Win 20–1 Argentina Jorge Castro UD 10 13 Apr 2003 Australia Carrara Sports Complex, Carrara, Gold Coast, Queensland
21 Win 19–1 United States Brad McNeil TKO 1 (8), 2:33 19 Jan 2003 Australia Telstra Superdome, Melbourne, Victoria
20 Win 19–1 New Zealand Anthony Bigeni TKO 1 (10) 6 Dec 2002 Australia State Netball & Hockey Centre, Parkville, Victoria
19 Win 18–1 Australia Glen Kelly TKO 4 (12) 18 Sep 2002 Australia Horden Pavilion, Moore Park, New South Wales Retained OPBF Light Heavyweight Title
18 Win 17–1 Samoa Seiaute Ma'ilata TKO 4 (12) 7 Jun 2002 Australia Southport Sharks AFL Club, Southport, Queensland Retained OPBF Light Heavyweight Title
17 Win 16–1 Kenya Kariz Kariuki TKO 4 (12) 9 May 2002 Australia Convention Centre, Melbourne, Victoria Retained OPBF Light Heavyweight Title
16 Win 15–1 Australia Paul Smallman TKO 4 (12) 4 Mar 2002 Australia Jupiters Hotel & Casino, Broadbeach, Queensland Won vacant OPBF Light Heavyweight Title
15 Win 14–1 United States James Green TKO 3 (4), 2:22 Nov 10, 2001 United States Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
14 Win 13–1 Australia Gurkan Ozkan PTS 8 8 Sep 2001 Australia Movieworld, Gold Coast, Queensland

Partial Kickboxing Record

Professional kickboxing record
The accurate record is unknown.
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
1999-12-24 Win Japan Noboru Uchida MAJKF "Tornado Warning -The Invasion Of Tornado!!-」 Japan TKO(Second stoppage) 4 0:00
1996 Loss France Stéphane Nikiéma Conrad Jupiters Cup,Gold Coast Australia KO (Knee) 1
1993-12-05 Win Japan Taiei Kin Revenge Melbourne, Australia KO (Right knee) 1 2:55
1994-03-26 Loss Thailand Jom Hod Sor Chid Lata Festival Hall,Brisbane Australia KO (Left low kick) 2
The bout was for Jomhod's World Title. Just before this bout, Briggs's kickboxing record had been announced as 35 Fights 32 Wins 1o KOs 3 Losses

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Bibliography

  • Briggs, Paul; Salmon, Gregor (2005). Heart, Soul, Fire: The Journey of Paul Briggs. Sydney, NSW: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-7322-8190-3.

References

  1. ^ "One-punch fight fixed - bookies". www.couriermail.com.au. 22 July 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  2. ^ Hamilton, Garth (23 July 2010). "How the once mighty Briggs was brought to his knees". The Roar. The Roar Sports Opinion. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Adamek Upsets Briggs to Claim WBC 175 lb Belt!". Aussiebox. 23 May 2005. Archived from the original on 6 April 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  4. ^ Australian Associated Press (AAP) (7 October 2006). "Undefeated Adamek beats Briggs, retains WBC title". Boxing. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  5. ^ a b "Danny Green enraged as Paul Briggs knocked out after 29 seconds". Boxing - Foxsports. Premier Media Group Pty Ltd. 22 July 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  6. ^ Levy, Megan (22 July 2010). "He's a dog and he's not getting paid". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  7. ^ Lane, Daniel (11 July 2010). "Irate Green chases lost millions". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  8. ^ "Boxer Paul Briggs fined in fight farce". AM. ABC Online. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  9. ^ "Green cleared, Briggs banned over fight farce". WAToday.com.au. Fairfax Digital. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Heart soul fire : the journey of Paul Briggs / Paul Briggs and Gregor Salmon". catalogue. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
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