In the past 12-18 months, heavyweight boxers Wladimir Klitschko and Shannon Briggs have had a recent series of rather bizarre encounters. Klitschko, who is in action on October 24 against Tyson Fury in Dusseldorf, Germany, was in the gym in Florida when Briggs, who also fights this Saturday night against Michael Marrone at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, confronted him. What started out as lighthearted banter soon escalated, and former WBA/IBF world champion Michael Moorer had to step in to keep the peace. Check it out:
As mentioned earlier, the pair has had previous encounters that got physical. Check out this confrontation in a Florida restaurant (referenced in the video above):
Before that, it would seem that Briggs not only visited but trained in the same gym where Klitschko was working out (Briggs arrives on the scene, captured on video, with his hands wrapped and having worked up a sweat). After some words with less than savory language, Moorer again hopped into the squared circle to split the men up:
This confrontation on the open water is also a doozy:
Klitschko holds the IBF, WBO, WBA Super and IBO title belts, and he regularly sells out packed stadiums in Germany, but interest in him stateside is so-so given the conservative nature of his boxing style. You can be the judge whether there is a real beef between these guys or if it is a ploy to drum up some interest in a potential Klitschko/Briggs fight, but they always seem to have the camera rolling at just the right moment.
