‘I’m a citizen. I’m an American citizen. I’m free to go around the world.’
The longest-running non-fight in heavyweight boxing history continued in Hamburg today as Shannon Briggs showed up at a Volkswagen dealership and demanded to see world champion Wladimir Klitschko. The 42-year-old pugilist has been seeking a world-title bout with the Ukrainian for the past seven months. Calls have met with mirth, anger, flat rejection, restraining orders and the odd flurry of restaurant punches.
Klitschko was taking part in an open training session in Hamburg today when Briggs showed up with a media train in tow. He was refused access by security guards, prompting the ‘American citizen’ retorts. Briggs took to whipping off his poncho, flexing his 796 muscles and waxing lyrical to all and sundry. ‘I’m the people’s champion,’ he said. ‘The people down at the train station. The people everywhere. The regular people’s champion, the common people. They respect; they know; they appreciate.’
Briggs’ close encounters with Klitschko have included crashing a news conference in April, stealing food from his plate in August and this superb video of him heckling the champion as he was out paddle-boarding.
This fight needs to happen.
