madjack
20-09-2002, 01:12 AM
Briggs knocks out Kelly
18sep02
AAP
QUEENSLANDER Paul Briggs delivered on his promise to stamp his mark on Australian boxing as he retained his Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation light heavyweight title with a devastating fourth round knockout of Glen Kelly.
Briggs, who was ranked 13th by the World Boxing Council, two places below Kelly, floored the Sydneysider with a crushing right to the head 18 seconds into the fourth round.
Kelly, who lost to undisputed light heavyweight champion Roy Jones in his last fight, never looked like beating the count of referee Brian McMahon, who called the fight off before reaching ten.
Former world title contender Kelly was leading by one point on one judge's card and even on the other two after the third round.
Briggs, 27, said he was going after a world title after hearing Jones had reportedly vacated his light heavyweight championship to pursue a heavyweight title shot.
The Queenslander improved his record to 17 wins (14 by ko) and one loss while 31-year-old Kelly slipped to 28 wins two losses and one draw.
While Kelly scored with jabs in the first and third rounds, Briggs was clearly the harder puncher and on one occasion in the second, muscled Kelly through the ropes.
Briggs praised Kelly for his warrior spirit and agreeing to fight him and revealed he had deliberately employed a counter-attacking tactic, rather than his customary style of forcing the fight.
Briggs, who will get a top 10 WBC ranking, said his trainer Rod Waterhouse had advised him to counter-punch.
"I know he was expecting me to come out and just try and bomb him out," Briggs said.
"Our fight plan was exactly the same as when Marco Antonio Barrerra fought Naseem Hamed, to try and sit back and let him get his confidence up and when he gets his confidence up he's going to make mistakes and that's exactly what happened."
Briggs said Kelly was one of the hardest boxers he had fought and tonight's tactics had been a test of his ability to adapt.
"After the loss to Roy Jones, I just don't think my heart was in it any more," said Kelly, who was unsure of his boxing future.
Briggs will next fight in Melbourne on November 15 when he fights either Macedonia's World Boxing Council International champion Sase Mitrevski or world-ranked veteran Yawe Davis.
In earlier fights, unbeaten Australian featherweight champion Jackson Asiku won the vacant World Boxing Organisation Asia Pacific title with a unanimous 12-round points win over Kazakhstan's Serik Zahan and Australian heavyweight champion Bob Mirovic recovered from two knock-downs to retain his title with a fifth round stoppage of previously unbeaten South Australian Roger Izonretei.
18sep02
AAP
QUEENSLANDER Paul Briggs delivered on his promise to stamp his mark on Australian boxing as he retained his Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation light heavyweight title with a devastating fourth round knockout of Glen Kelly.
Briggs, who was ranked 13th by the World Boxing Council, two places below Kelly, floored the Sydneysider with a crushing right to the head 18 seconds into the fourth round.
Kelly, who lost to undisputed light heavyweight champion Roy Jones in his last fight, never looked like beating the count of referee Brian McMahon, who called the fight off before reaching ten.
Former world title contender Kelly was leading by one point on one judge's card and even on the other two after the third round.
Briggs, 27, said he was going after a world title after hearing Jones had reportedly vacated his light heavyweight championship to pursue a heavyweight title shot.
The Queenslander improved his record to 17 wins (14 by ko) and one loss while 31-year-old Kelly slipped to 28 wins two losses and one draw.
While Kelly scored with jabs in the first and third rounds, Briggs was clearly the harder puncher and on one occasion in the second, muscled Kelly through the ropes.
Briggs praised Kelly for his warrior spirit and agreeing to fight him and revealed he had deliberately employed a counter-attacking tactic, rather than his customary style of forcing the fight.
Briggs, who will get a top 10 WBC ranking, said his trainer Rod Waterhouse had advised him to counter-punch.
"I know he was expecting me to come out and just try and bomb him out," Briggs said.
"Our fight plan was exactly the same as when Marco Antonio Barrerra fought Naseem Hamed, to try and sit back and let him get his confidence up and when he gets his confidence up he's going to make mistakes and that's exactly what happened."
Briggs said Kelly was one of the hardest boxers he had fought and tonight's tactics had been a test of his ability to adapt.
"After the loss to Roy Jones, I just don't think my heart was in it any more," said Kelly, who was unsure of his boxing future.
Briggs will next fight in Melbourne on November 15 when he fights either Macedonia's World Boxing Council International champion Sase Mitrevski or world-ranked veteran Yawe Davis.
In earlier fights, unbeaten Australian featherweight champion Jackson Asiku won the vacant World Boxing Organisation Asia Pacific title with a unanimous 12-round points win over Kazakhstan's Serik Zahan and Australian heavyweight champion Bob Mirovic recovered from two knock-downs to retain his title with a fifth round stoppage of previously unbeaten South Australian Roger Izonretei.