“He Was Out for 15 Minutes”: Ex-Klitschko Opponent Recalls Toughest KO of His Career

Former heavyweight world champion Shannon Briggs shared a chilling memory from March 2006, when he knocked out fellow American boxer Dicky Ryan.

Though no video footage of the knockout exists, Briggs claims he delivered a devastating right hand that left Ryan unconscious for 15 minutes.

“I’ve had a few brutal knockouts where I was scared I might’ve done something terrible to the guy. One guy I hit was out for 15 minutes, and I got worried because I thought something bad had happened to him.

But it was a great punch—you gotta see that right hand. I threw it like an arrow. Straight to the target. Look at me, I’m crazy, I’m smiling… I hit this guy so hard he’s probably still asleep. His name was Dicky Ryan. It was so bad that I got nervous.

I knocked him out, and he was left unconscious under the ropes. His body was twisted, hanging outside the ring. You know, something like that could’ve happened to me too, so I had to make sure it happened to him,” Briggs recounted.

Over his career of 68 fights, Shannon Briggs achieved 60 wins, 53 by knockout—37 of which occurred in the first round, a boxing record. He also had 6 losses and 1 draw.

In October 2010, Briggs faced Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko, losing by unanimous decision. After that fight, Shannon continued boxing until 2016, remaining undefeated in his subsequent bouts.