Former heavy weight fighter Shannon Briggs watches during the Country Box event at the Texas Troubadour Theater Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Alan Poizner/For The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Former Champion Shannon Briggs Targets Ike Ibeabuchi Fight In Nigeria

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Joseph Hammond | Last updated Oct 3, 2025 11:00 PM ET

Former linear heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs has launched a "presidential" campaign.

Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs has announced he wants to face Ike "The President" Ibeabuchi in his next bout. Although the former two-time heavyweight champion from New York has criticized the Nigerian fighter for his negotiation techniques, he has asked promoter Amir Khan to intervene to ensure the fight takes place.

"Ike Ibeabuchi — that old turtle — wants $500,000 for me to put him in the blender. He knows he'll become a movie, so he's asking for heavy bread. If Amir Khan makes it happen in Nigeria, you'll see what I do to him. It won't be pretty. I'll put the fight in the hospital parking lot so they can take him straight upstairs to a room. Pre-check-in. Have the operating machines warmed up on standby. Beep, beep," Briggs said in an interview with WBN.

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Before earning a win last month, Ike Ibeabuchi (21-0, 16 KOs) had last fought in the previous century. The Nigerian fighter defeated Idris Affini (18-8-2) more than a quarter century after knocking out Chris Byrd in 1999. In earning the victory over Affini in Lagos, Nigeria, Ibeabuchi set a boxing record for the longest return to the ring after a layoff.

A variety of legal and immigration troubles kept the fighter from the ring for years. An earlier comeback for Ibeabuchi stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

50 Is The New 30 in Boxing

Briggs last fought in 2016, although he has long sought a return to the ring. In the build-up to that fight, he sought a match with then-WBO heavyweight champion David Haye. The fight never materialized. More recently, a comeback fight scheduled to take place in Nashville in July fell through. Briggs has also called out Deontay Wilder in the past year.

Briggs 60-6-1 has as many years as he does knockouts — 53. Ike Ibeabuchi is 52. Though this might be young by the standards of the sport in 2025. Mike Tyson plans to fight Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition match next year. He turns 60 in June.

Oliver McCall, another former champion, is already 60 years old. McCall has fought more than Ibebuchi, Briggs, and Tyson combined in the past three years, going 2-0-1 in three bouts.

What's Shannon Briggs Been Doing?

More recently, Briggs has established himself as a prominent boxing influencer. He trained internet superstar Logan Paul for his rematch against fellow internet superstar KSI. His catchphrase, "Let's go, Champ," has become one of the most recognizable in the sport today.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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