(REUTERS) – Former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs interrupted the weigh-in of world champion Vladimir Klitschko and Australian challenger Alex Leapai yesterday demanding a fight against the Ukrainian
The 42-year-old Briggs, who had made the same demands during a news conference this week after removing his shirt, was beaten by Vladimir’s brother Vitaly in 2010 and spent a few days in hospital after the fight.Yesterday he entered the room and shouted his demands while the two fighters were on stage locked in stare-down.
“I have the age, the experience and the power,” shouted American Briggs during the weigh-in at a shopping mall in Muelheim near Dusseldorf, saying Klitschko was avoiding him.
The 38-year-old Klitschko, who holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO crowns and is due to fight Leapai this evening, brushed off Briggs’s stunt, focusing solely on his fight with the Australian.
“I feel better than ever,” he told reporters after weighing in at 112 kilos, as much as Leapai.
Klitschko’s record stands at 61 wins with 51 knockouts and three defeats while 34-year-old Leapai has won 30 and lost four bouts