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Shannon Briggs-Fres Oquendo fight canceled

Fighters Network
23
May

A fight no one asked for, and that couldn’t even attract a TV network just weeks out, is now officially canceled.

The Shannon Briggs-Fres Oquendo bout for the WBA’s bogus “regular” title was scheduled for June 3 in Hollywood, Florida, but Briggs tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, the sanctioning organization announced Monday.

Organizers officially announced the cancellation of the fight Tuesday.

The “atypical finding” was discovered during a routine urine collection carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.



The contest between irrelevant heavyweights was formalized after Oquendo sued the WBA and won. Anthony Joshua is the WBA’s recognized heavyweight titleholder.

Briggs (60-6-1, 53 knockouts) last competed in a meaningful bout when he was pummeled by Vitali Klitschko in 2010, but the Brooklynite rose to prominence afterward due to his popular social media accounts, dominated by his catchphrase “Let’s go champ!”

The 45-year-old has won 10 consecutive bouts since the Klitschko defeat, albeit against limited opposition.

The Cannon” long tried to coax Klitschko’s brother, Wladimir, into a fight, and even followed the Ukrainian during a paddleboarding excursion in Florida.

The last time Briggs was relevant for athletic reasons? When he scored a last-second KO of Sergey Liakhovich in 2006. Oquendo (37-8, 24 KOs) became relevant again only because of his court victory. The 44-year-old hasn’t competed since a 2014 majority-decision defeat to Ruslan Chagaev for this same vacant title.

The Puerto Rico native had shoulder surgery in late 2015, and now, it’s unclear when — and against whom — he’ll challenge for that WBA belt.

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