Pair have been involved in numerous heated exchanges in recent months…
WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has added extra security to his team after a series of run-ins with Shannon Briggs.
The Ukrainian is currently in training for his September 6 bout against Kubrat Pulev in Hamburg, Germany, and following on from various clashes with his American rival, he has moved to add protection.
It has been just over a week since Briggs stormed into a restaurant where Klitschko was eating before taking some of his food whilst insisting that he would follow him everywhere he went until he accepted a fight with him.
“As soon as I see you, I will hot you in the face. Your fat security guard approached me from the back and grabbed me. That’s cool. I even cut my foot on your glass jaw. Nobody cares about your fight against Pulev, while the entire world is talking about us. Let’s do this!” said Briggs, according to Sport.ru.
“This was 100% real, not staged,” added Briggs about that restaurant brawl.
Briggs has been left unimpressed with the level of opposition that the reigning champion has been facing in recent years, and although many will doubt his credentials, the fact that he has pushed for a fight so publicly has grabbed the attention of both the media and fans.
However, while the drama of the situation is getting more popular, it undoubtedly produces a threat to Klitschko and his more immediate concern which is his preparations for Pulev and he will not want to be at risk ahead of that fight.
Prior to the restaurant debacle, the pair have came face-to-face during one of Klitschko’s gym sessions while Briggs also gatecrashed his press conference ahead of the fight against Alex Leapai.
Klitschko’s manager, Berndt Boente has insisted that “until now it was funny, but not anymore”, and as a result they have decided to take extra precautions in the event that the two cross each other’s paths again in the near future.
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