Briggs to Battle Goodridge in April 30th K-1 “Battle at the Bellagio II” Superfight
Fresh off his K-1 martial arts fighting debut victory, former linear heavyweight boxing champion, Shannon Briggs, will make his second start in “The New Fighting Sport” when he faces Gary Goodridge in a three-round K-1 Superfight during the Friday, April 30th, Pay-Per-View televised K-1 “Battle At The Bellagio II” extravaganza at Las Vegas, Nevada’s Bellagio Hotel and Casino.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) April 16, 2004 -- Fresh off his K-1 martial arts
fighting debut victory, former linear heavyweight boxing champion, Shannon
Briggs, will make his second start in “The New Fighting Sport” when he faces
Gary Goodridge in a three-round K-1 Superfight during the Friday, April 30th,
Pay-Per-View televised K-1 “Battle At The Bellagio II” extravaganza at Las
Vegas, Nevada’s Bellagio Hotel and Casino.
On March 27th, the 32-year-old
Briggs (40-4-1 (34 KO’s) wasted little time in seizing his first K-1 win when he
squared off with American martial arts fight veteran, Tom Erikson, at Saitama,
Japan’s Saitama Super Arena. At the 1:02 mark of the opening round, the boxer
floored Erikson with a sharp left-right punch combination. Erikson attempted to
rise to his feet, but failed to beat the referee’s 10-count.
Goodridge
(37-18 (27 KO’s), a nine-year veteran of the martial arts fight game, will
return to Las Vegas K-1 competition for the third straight year. On August 17,
2002, the 38-year-old powerhouse shocked the world by exploding all over
longtime K-1 superstar and former World Boxing Federation (WBF) Heavyweight
Champion, Mike Bernardo, with a flurry of punches that earned him a technical
knockout win only a minute and thirty-eight seconds into the first round of the
K-1 Bellagio Hotel and Casino Superfight. Goodridge is also a former Canadian
amateur boxing champion.
A native of Brooklyn,
New York’s Brownsville section that was also the childhood home of former
heavyweight champions, “Iron” Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe, Briggs is best
remembered for his November 22, 1997 12-round judges’ decision victory over
boxing legend, George Foreman. Briggs’ skills have been showcased on nearly
every major cable television network that airs boxing, including HBO, Showtime
Network, ESPN, Madison Square Garden Network (MSG), and USA Network. His
remarkable run that saw him win his first 25 professional contests garnered him
coverage in leading sports and lifestyle publications, including Sports
Illustrated, Vogue, and Vibe. MTV, CNN, and FOX Sports Network have all featured
the fighter as a guest. During a recent interview on the popular NBC Network
talk show “Last Call With Carson Daly,” Briggs issued a challenge to
Tyson.
A man of many talents, Briggs has dabbled with careers in hip-hop
recording, modeling, and acting. Last year, he made his silver screen debut in
the Hollywood hit, “Bad Boys II,” that co-starred Will Smith and Martin
Lawrence.
Tickets for Friday, April 30th’s K-1 “Battle at the Bellagio
II” event can be purchased online at K-1 USA’s website (www.k-1usa.net) store or by
calling The Bellagio Hotel and Casino box office toll free at
1-800-963-9634.
About K-1
K-1 is a martial arts fighting sport that
derives its name from its inclusion of a wide array of combat disciplines,
including Karate, Kung-Fu, and Kickboxing (“K”), and its intent to determine one
champion in one ring (“1”). After being staged for the first time in Japan in
1993 under the direction of founder Master Kazuyoshi Ishii, it later evolved
into the country’s most popular sport and achieved popular culture status there
as its athletes turned into larger-than-life celebrities. Last year, K-1 USA,
the North American subsidiary of K-1, inked a partnership with ESPN to jointly
market K-1 fight cards broadcast on United States Pay-Per-View television.
For more information, please contact Lisa Jackson at 310 271-2617 or
email e-mail protected from spam bots. Note to Editors…fighters are available
for interviews.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/4/prweb118864.htm