Ibragimov wins WBO Heavyweight title

Briggs (48-5-1) had won 12 straight bouts and captured his first career title by scoring a technical knockout victory against Sergei Liakhovich in November 2006.

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Making his first defence of the title, Briggs towered over the 32-year-old Russian, but the 2000 Olympic silver medalist beat the lumbering champion to the punch to record a unanimous decision.

The judges scored it 119-109, 117-111 and 115-113 in favour of Ibragimov, who improved his record to 21-0-1 in a match that was originally scheduled for March 10 in New York but was postponed when Briggs went down with a case of pneumonia.

Briggs, 35, who outweighed the challenger by more than 50 pounds (23kg), dropped to 48-5-1.

Fighting out of a crouch that further accentuated the size difference between them, Ibragimov began cautiously but by the third round, started to spring up and beat Briggs to the punch with stinging left hooks and straight left leads.

The flat-footed Briggs was an easy target and Ibragimov took more chances as the bout wore on, doubling up on his hooks and avoiding the few combinations tried by the American.

The ninth round offered the most action in an otherwise lacklustre fight, with the Russian landing three lefts in succession to daze Briggs and shove him into a corner.

Moments later Ibragimov connected again with a flurry of lefts and a right that left the champion puffy under the eyes.

Despite knowing only a knockout could allow him to continue to break an East European monopoly of titles in the heavyweight division, Briggs did not mount an attack in the latter rounds and the Boardwalk Hall crowd of 5,132 booed their dissatisfaction.

Afterwards, Briggs said he was still ailing.

"I have been taking all kinds of antibiotics," he told reporters. "I couldn't train for the last two weeks.

"I really didn't want to fight, but if I pulled out they threatened to sue me and they would have stripped me (of the title)."

Said Ibragimov: "Shannon Briggs is a very tough guy. I had to be really careful and respect his power.

"Tonight I will go to sleep as champion and tomorrow I will wake up as champion."

Ibragimov's victory leaves America again without a heavyweight champion.

Ibragimov joins Ukraine's Wladimir Klitschko (IBF), Kazakhstan's Oleg Maskaev (WBC) and Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan (WBA) as heavyweight champions.