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Give Shannon Briggs credit: he never stops trying to get himself a world title fight. While he spent a long time harassing Wladimir Klitschko, he hasn't let Klitschko's dethroning thwart his efforts, and he took literally minutes today before he called out new WBA "world" titleholder Lucas Browne, who defeated Ruslan Chagaev earlier today in Russia.
Briggs, 44, is indeed ranked by the WBA, which in theory puts him in line for a shot at either Tyson Fury -- the real champion of the division, and the WBA "super world" champion -- or Browne. "The Cannon" first challenged for a world title in 1998, when he was stopped in five rounds by Lennox Lewis, but did win the WBO belt in 2006, scoring a stunning 12th round stoppage of Siarhei Liakhovich.
Briggs lost the WBO belt seven months later in his first defense against Sultan Ibragimov, and most recently challenged for a world title in 2010, when he was beaten pillar to post over 12 rounds by Vitali Klitschko. He was out of the sport for three and a half years after that, before returning in 2014. He's gone 8-0 (7 KO) since then, facing limited opposition.
Briggs (59-6-1, 52 KO) may have a leg up in getting a fight against Browne (24-0, 21 KO), as Briggs may be in the sort of position where he's more than happy to fight Browne on his turf, which would bring a world title fight (of sorts) to Australia, and really, it's the sort of fight that Aussie boxing seems to love, an Australian fighter with a big name at home facing an aging or aged American who was once a star.
Basically, if Shannon Briggs is going to get another "world title shot," this might be his best chance, and he's smart to make the challenge so quickly.