The boxing vs. MMA saga continues.
It’s Finally Happening
Former boxing heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs is set to return to the ring against former UFC Champ and heated rival Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. The crossover boxing bout is expected to place on February 17 at The Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.
The build-up to this fight is like no other, with Briggs and Jackson locking horns multiple times over the years. The back-and-forth has been fun to watch and it has no intention of slowing down, months away from the eventual match in February.
“The people they wanna see me and him talk shit, I just wanna knock him out and go about my business,” Briggs said in a face-off interview with Jackson on The Jaxxon Podcast.
Banter
“Out of all the MMA fighters, why you call me out?” Jackson responded.
“Nah, I ain’t call you out,” Briggs said.
“Yes you did, you called me out after my Fedor fight, the worst fight in my career. Don’t be trying to lie,” Jackson told Briggs.
As it turns out, ‘Rampage’ was right in saying Briggs called him out after his final MMA fight with Fedor Emelianenko in 2019. Like many others, Briggs was turned off by Jackson’s lackluster performance that saw him TKO’ed in the first round.
“No actually, because you know what? I thought you was gonna win. I was calling you to set up the big fight, but as soon as you, he hit you, I said, oh shit, I had to hang the phone back up,” Briggs said with a laugh. “I had to hang the phone back up. I said, damn, there go the money. Damn it! Let’s go, champ!”
Jackson didn’t like what he was hearing from his next opponent.
“Why you gonna bring this guy? Why you gonna bring, this like this like my enemy right now,” Jackson said of Briggs.
Briggs Tells Jackson Boxing ‘Ain’t For Everybody’
Briggs, a former world champion, doesn’t think Jackson has what it takes to be successful in boxing, especially against him.
“You know what it is with Rampage? He not a bad guy, but he gotta stick to wrestling. You shouldn’t be boxing. Everybody trying to like, like you said, Jake Paul, everybody like the YouTubers. Everybody everybody wanna give boxing a shot. It ain’t for everybody. It ain’t for you champ. Leave it alone. He’s a wrestler. That’s wrestling.
“Boxing is an art. It’s a skilled profession. You have to have skill. It’s an art. It’s like drawing a mural. You gotta know how you gotta take time to perfect the science. You ain’t got that,” Briggs told Jackson.
“I got these bungalows, though,” Rampage responded, showing his fists.
Even More Banter
Jackson and Briggs continued with their verbal warfare, with Briggs saying he’s open to wrestling Jackson.
“I beat a guy like this in my sleep, for real, I can train for two days and beat you in boxing. Wrestling? I’m gonna fight him in wrestling, too,” Briggs claimed.
“I don’t believe that. I believe you lying. You won’t do that,” Jackson added.
“I fought K-1. Listen, the only reason I haven’t been active, ’cause nobody wanna fight me, they scared. He the only one got a little heart,” Briggs said of Jackson. “I give you credit on that, little fist.
“Why do you think they scared of you, bro?” Jackson replied.
“Look at my resume man.” Briggs responded.
“But you 65 years old now.” Jackson said.
‘I’m Still An Animal’
For the 51 year-old Briggs, age is just a number.
“It don’t matter. I’m 51,000 years old and I still hit hard. I’m still an animal. Look at me. No power lost. I can still take a punch. He can’t hurt me anyway. Look at his fist,” Briggs laughed. “You couldn’t hurt me no matter what you did, champ. Imma keep it real… You better not slam me.”
What ‘Rampage’ Is Fighting For
Rampage Jackson has something to prove in his boxing debut against Shannon ‘The Cannon’.
“I’m sure you gonna put it in the rules where I can’t do nothing. I don’t wanna disrespect. What I wanna do is, Shannon, I wanna show the world that I do have potential to box. He’s right, I never had a boxing match before. I wanna show the world. I do have potential to box and I wanna get some experience and stuff out there. And, all this time, I just wanna shut him the f*ck up.”
We’ll see who takes home the massive bragging rights, come next year.
