On Second Thought: Was George Foreman vs. Shannon Briggs the biggest robbery in heavyweight boxing history?
It's the biggest robbery in Heavyweight boxing history...or was it?
The scorecards read as follows:
Steve Weisfeld: 114–114, a draw
Calvin Claxton: 116–112, in favor of Briggs
Larry Layton: 117–113, in favor of Briggs
It marked the end of George Foreman’s hall-of-fame career and it earned Shannon Briggs a shot at Lennox Lewis’ WBC Heavyweight Championship. A fight Lewis won via 5th round knockout.
That shouldn’t have been Briggs’ championship fight though, it should have been Foreman’s. The fight between Foreman and Briggs was the biggest robbery in heavyweight boxing in my lifetime. Foreman absolutly destroyed Briggs for 12 rounds and the judges who scored that fight have no place in the sport.
At least that’s how I remember it. Maybe I’m wrong.
Let’s find out.
Round 1: Briggs 10-9
Total: 10-9
Briggs controlled the round early, but Foreman did land some clear effective blows in the middle of the round. Briggs hit Foreman with a left hook that rocked Foreman with 10 seconds left in the round.
Round 2: Briggs 10-9
Total: Briggs 20-18
Briggs dominated that round early with Foreman slowly coming on in the last minute of the round. However, Briggs alreadly looks exhausted and is breathing heavily.
Round 3: Foreman 10-9
Total: Briggs 29-28
It’s crazy that even at the age of 48, Foreman was such a master technitian in the ring. He dominated every second of that round.
Round 4: Foreman 10-9
Total: 38-38 All
Briggs came out early with a series of jabs, but it was all Foreman after that. Foreman looks so relaxed in there. It’s almost feels like I’m watching a light sparring session. Foreman is dominating the clearly exhausted Briggs.
Round 5: Briggs 10-9
Total:Briggs 48-47
A very close round that Briggs narrowly squeaks out. Briggs’ best round since the first.
Round 6: Foreman 10-9
Total: 57-57 All
Another very close round, but Foreman narrowly squeaked it out. Foreman just seems to be too much for Briggs to handle. The frustration shows in his body language had none of his blows seem to have any type of impact on Foreman.
Round 7: Foreman 10-9
Total: Foreman 67-66
As I said earlier, this looks like a bit of a sparring session. Very boring fight. However, Briggs has been coming on in these past few rounds and is looking sharper than he did early. Close round for Foreman.
Round 8: Foreman 10-9
Total: Foreman 77-75
Foreman kicked up the aggression about four notches and Briggs had no answer. An absolute brillant showing that round.
Round 9: Briggs 10-9
Total: Foreman 86-85
Briggs outworked Foreman in this round and landed the cleaner, more effective punches. This fight is a lot closer than I remember.
Round 10: Briggs 10-9
Total: 95-95 All
Briggs won that round and this fight is tied after 10. I’m truly in shock at just how close this fight is and how I remembered this all worng.
Round 11: Foreman 10-9
Total: Foreman 105-104
Foreman has some bruises on his face, but is by far the fresher fighter. Briggs is showing a lot of heart, but it was Foreman’s round and he retakes the lead heading inot the final round.
Round 12: Foreman 10-9
Total: Foreman 115-113
Briggs got some solid shots in, but it was the George Foreman show in that round. He absolutley dominated the action and rocked Briggs several times.
So the fight wasn’t as big of a dominate performance as I thought, but Foreman was the clear aggressor throughout and landed the cleaner, more effective punches throughout.
Now having watched it again, I can see a draw. Steve Weisfeld is a respected judge, and alot of those middle rounds were razor thin. But to have Briggs winning by four points is absolutly bonkers