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"He's a awesome fighter, 1988 Olympic
Gold medallist, and in his day I wouldn't
have lasted a round with him," Briggs
said after the KO. "We want a rematch
because he thinks I fouled him but he was
over the ropes and I had to do what I had
to do."
"He's
strong, he's strong. I got nothing to say
the guy caught me," Mercer said after
the knockout.
--Comeback
Trail--
4,000 souls
braved the raging weather to make it to
the arena to see two fighters who would
have both been better served to have
squared off at least seven or eight years
earlier.
Briggs
(43-4-1, 37 KO's) opened with a flurry of
shots to the head, as Mercer (34-6-1, 25
KO's) returned fire with stiff left jabs
and several insults uttered through his
mouthpiece. Mercer's commentary would
continue throughout the fight even as
Briggs (257) was landing heavy leather.
After
working behind his own stiff left jab,
Briggs, Brooklyn, NY., drilled Mercer,
6'1", with 42-seconds remaining in
the 2nd with a cracking right cross to the
jaw. Seconds later, Briggs, 33, connected
again with a curving overhand right that
caught Mercer, Jacksonville, FL., flush on
the other side of seemingly steel
reinforced chin. Briggs finished off the
round by bouncing several more hard hooks
and overhand rights off of Mercer's
profile.
Despite the
early fireworks, Briggs, 6'4", eased
off the throttle and began to pace himself
and allowed Mercer back into the fight, as
the aging veteran began tattooing the
taller fighter with ramrod left jabs.
However, with 50-seconds to go in the 3rd,
Briggs sank a hard left hook into Mercer's
exposed right flank. Mercer returned fire
and caught Briggs with a lunging left hook
that snapped the fighter's blonde
badger-like hairstyle skyward.
--Picking
Up The Pace--
In the
fourth round, Mercer scored with several
whistling counter right crosses that
thudded off Briggs' jaw. Mercer return to
scoring with his hard left jab and Briggs
struggled to let his hands go. as the
older man began controlling the tempo and
the pace of the heavyweight bout. Just
before the bell to end the 4th, Mercer
landed a cracking right hand to the jaw
followed by a solid left hook and then
raised his gloves in triumph when he
returned to his corner.
Briggs
attempted to get back in the contest early
in the 5th, and he clipped Mercer with a
volley of shots to the face to open the
round. Mercer's staccato-like left jabs
relentlessly pierced Briggs' defense and
his accuracy was amazing given his age and
his lack of movement. In the 6th, Briggs
was compelled to start letting his hands
go and he scored early with another flurry
of shots to the head.
With 1:45
remaining in the 6th, he tagged Mercer
with another combination but he started
the sequence with a stout left hook to the
older boxer's midsection. Briggs reloaded
and then drilled Mercer with another
curling overhand right that rattled off
his skull. Briggs continued to pull the
trigger and he bounced another one-two of
the immobile Mercer's profile.
However,
Mercer was not done for the evening and
with one-minute to go in the 6th, he
drilled Briggs with a scalding right cross
that again made the taller man's hair
dance on end. Briggs responded by
clinching and then exchanging a few
comments with his opponent's cornermen.
With 6-seconds remaining in the round,
Mercer leaned inside and connected with a
swift left hook to the chin but it would
prove to be his last heavy artillery of
the bout.
--Good
Night Merciless--
Briggs
opened the 7th, by catching Mercer with a
half dozen range finding left jabs that
skidded off the slower man's face. Mercer
attempted to return fire and he missed
badly with a wild overhand right hand as
Briggs retreated to the ropes.
The
momentum of the missed blow carried the
off balance Mercer forward and his body
ended up dangling over the top strand.
Briggs took a half step to his left and
then caught the defenseless boxer with at
least four wicked shots to the face and
the temple. This was all executed with
Briggs' left arm wrapped around Mercer's
back and the boxer was in effect easy prey
for a knockout puncher.
The punches
rocketed off Mercer's skull and with his
left arm still hanging over the top rope
he crashed to the canvas flat on his back
seemingly exhausted and unconscious.
Mercer blinked his eyes open several times
in the horizontal position with both of
his gloves folded on his chest.
At the
count of nine, he finally lifted his head
but by then it was too late. The evening
and the fight was over. All that was left
was for Briggs to celebrate and 4,000
paying customers to make it back to their
cars and do battle with the remnants of
Hurricane Katrina.
August 26, 2005) Hollywood, FL.
(Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena)
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