Jeff Mayweather & Shannon Briggs: opposites attract

04/06/2006

Jeff Mayweather & Shannon Briggs: opposites attract

Edited Press Release: Trainer Jeff Mayweather has been working with Shannon Briggs lately. He is a college graduate from the Midwest and an overachiever. He was a small fighter, who threw a conservative amount of pinpoint punches while going the distance in nearly all of his fights. He was sometimes thought of as the least talented of the famous Mayweather family, but his tireless work ethic in training helped him acheive a reasonably successful career as a junior welterweight. An extremely pensive, calm and bookish man, Mayweather carries himself with a quiet dignity.
 
Heavyweight contender Shannon Briggs is as big and talented as they come. He won the linear heavyweight title by beating George Foreman by benefit of a controversial decision and has compiled an impressive 47-4-1, 41 KO's record. With a loss to Sedreck Fields and a draw against Francois Btha, some still consider the gifted Briggs an underachiever. Known for throwing vicious hooks to the head and body with reckless abandon and bad intent, Briggs’ past lack of defense and stamina were seldom exposed because of his natural power and hand speed – No one hung around long enough to push him.

Not a college graduate, Briggs is an alumnus of the Brooklyn School of Hard Knocks. He was raised in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, sometimes was homeless as a youth, and his father wento jail for the attempted murder of a police officer.
 
Briggs is as loud and outgoing as Mayweather is quiet and shy. Mayweather is reserved while Briggs is a shameless self promoter. They are an odd couple and together they find themselves seeking a shot at the heavyweight championship. They say what makes a truly great pairing is when two people complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

In Briggs, Mayweather has found all the power he lacked as a boxer. In Mayweather, Briggs has found the calm voice and experience, and perhaps discipline, he needs in the corner. And judging by the strength of Briggs’ performance in his last fight against badly battered Chris Koval, things are working out perfectly.