“I just got off the phone negotiating a fight with Tommy Fury. All I can say is Tommy, don’t get scared now. Don’t get scared, Tommy. Tell your daddy and your big brother I’m coming for you. You first, daddy second, other one third. Let’s go, Tommy. Let’s go, champ,” said Briggs via talkSPORT Boxing.
His last fight came on May 21, 2016, when he stopped Emilio Ezequiel Zarate in the first round at London’s O2 Arena. BoxRec lists Briggs as inactive, with 60 wins, six losses, one draw, one no contest and 53 knockouts.
Ten years away is the real story behind the proposed fight. Briggs possesses an enormous size advantage and remains recognizable, but he would be returning at 54 against an active 27-year-old cruiserweight. Tommy Fury had just celebrated his 17th birthday when Briggs made his last professional appearance.
Following the Tyson-Paul Formula
The commercial idea is easy to understand. Jake Paul’s fight with a 58-year-old Mike Tyson demonstrated how much attention can be created by matching a young crossover boxer with a heavyweight star from a previous generation. Briggs may see an opportunity to collect his own payday while that market still exists.
His punching power gives promoters something to sell, but his present reflexes, punch resistance and stamina are unknown. Victories over George Foreman and Siarhei Liakhovich belong to another era. The last time Briggs faced world-class opposition was his punishing 12-round loss to Vitali Klitschko in 2010.
Licensing requires more than an agreement between the fighters. The British Boxing Board of Control requires medical and optician reports, brain scans and blood testing before granting a boxer’s license. It has the authority to reject a contest it considers an extreme mismatch. Age alone does not make sanctioning impossible, as Tyson’s professional fight with Paul showed, but Briggs’ inactivity requires serious scrutiny.
This proposal reveals where Tommy Fury’s career is heading. He has the age, family connections and background to pursue active cruiserweights, yet his largest financial opportunities continue to come from crossover events. After facing Jake Paul, KSI and Eddie Hall, fighting Briggs would take him even farther from domestic titles and rankings.
Misfits may see value in Briggs’ personality, American following and “Let’s go, champ” catchphrase. That does not make the contest competitive. It makes Briggs another famous older heavyweight whose past can be sold to an audience that remembers him more clearly than the fighter he is at 54.
Briggs remains the only party claiming negotiations have occurred. Until Fury or Misfits confirms the discussion, this is an attempted comeback pitch rather than evidence that a deal is close.
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