October 30, 2003; Top world rated light heavyweight Paul "Hurricane" Briggs returns to action Friday in a ten round tune up bout against tough Argentine challenger Juan Zabala at the Panthers Leagues Club Stadium in the Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. Also on the card, put on by Glenn Wheatley in partnership with Blaster Promotions, will be Shannan Taylor, Lovemore N'Dou and Sakio Bika. Boxingtalk.com was able to speak with Paul and his manager/trainer Rod Waterhouse as the two were finalizing preparations for the talented Gold Coast fighter's first bout in almost seven months, and you won't want to miss what one of the top light heavyweights in the world had to say.

World light heavyweight champion Roy Jones' successful exodus to the heavyweight division earlier this year created a void in the 175 pound weight class that has yet to be truly filled. While Antonio Tarver managed to collect two of Jones' three major titles with his dominating win over Montel Griffin in April, Jones will almost certainly take them back as he returns to face Tarver on November 8th in Las Vegas. Jones, who currently holds the WBA Heavyweight title, is thought to be returning to his former division simply to deliver a one time beating to the abrasive Tarver. Should that prove to be the case, the division will be truly wide open for the first time in years. Along with new WBO champion Julio Gonzalez and Briton Clinton Woods, Paul Briggs is in best position to take advantage of Tarver's likely removal and Jones' expected return to the heavyweight ranks.

Briggs, 20-1 (16), solidified his standing as one of division's elite in two of his recent bouts. The first was his brutal four round destruction of former world title challenger and main Australian rival Glenn "Kunga" Kelly in August of 2002. The second was Briggs' most recent match, a comprehensive points victory against the old master, Jorge Castro. The 35-year-old Castro, former WBA Middleweight beltholder and WBC/IBF Cruiserweight title challenger, brought the experience of 135 professional fights (124 victories) to bear against Briggs but to no avail as the younger and quicker Australian won all three judge's scorecards by comfortable margins.

"I'm so excited at the moment, I've just got itchy knuckles," said Briggs at the prospect of returning to the ring. "I'm just so rapt to be getting back in there. I took two months off after the Castro fight, as planned, as I had been going solid for three and a half years. I had always gone back to the gym a week after each fight so it was the first real break I'd had. My baby daughter was also born during that time so I wanted to take some time off to enjoy that. But getting back into the game, we had so many fights fall out and went through so many opponents, as the light heavyweight division seemed to be in turmoil. It's been really frustrating and really trying mentally, but I'm back into full swing again now. Being number one in the WBC, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just want to see what happens with Tarver and Jones and I'll go from there, but I'm really excited about Friday night."

The highest profile opponent that fell through for Briggs prior to this fight was undoubtedly Sheffield, England's Clinton Woods. "We scheduled discussions, on the possibility of fighting Woods, with his manager Dennis Hobson," said Rod Waterhouse, Briggs' trainer and manager. "They offered us some money and then British promoter Frank Warren came into the picture. I told them what we would expect to financially get from fighting Woods. They went to a purse bid, which Warren won, and we had a verbal agreement with him. He would provide the fight with Woods and we verbally agreed to a three fight deal with him afterward, but then Warren had a dispute with the WBC over Ricky Hatton's ranking at light welterweight. They had a split and Warren said that was it, he wanted nothing to do with the WBC. So then, the purse had reverted to Dennis Hobson and then from there, Dennis just decided not to go through with the fight. I really don't know what happened, but Clinton is scheduled to fight Glencoffe Johnson instead of Paul and that's the end of the story, basically."

Briggs' opponent for the match on Friday will be Juan Eduardo Zabala from Morteros, Argentina. Zabala, 11-8-1 (8), most recently saw action against Agustin Gabino Aguilera, winning by second round disqualification some two months ago. The Argentine, who's only fight outside of his home country took place in Uruguay, has seen an up and down career. After winning his first five fights, four within the distance, Zabala went 0-6-1 with no contest in his next eight. Since ending the tailspin, Zabala has managed a more respectable five wins, two losses in his last seven. While the 25 year old Argentinean is on somewhat of a roll of late, his three stoppage losses spell trouble against the iron fisted Briggs.

"Zabala is very tall, about 6 foot 4," said Briggs. "That's great because I'm supposed to be fighting Stipe Drews (European light heavy titlist) after this one and he's 6 foot 5. It should be a good warm up for Stipe. I don't think my opponent's record is too impressive but I've still trained hard. I train hard for the hard fights and I even train harder for what are supposed to be the easy fights, because they're the ones that can be detrimental to your career if you lose. You see what happened in a case like the first Lennox Lewis - Hasim Rachman fight. It's hard staying motivated when you know you're just so much technically better than your opponent is. Roy Jones has admitted that it's hard for him to stay motivated as he prepares for Tarver. It's difficult to train hard and I think it's a credit to people like Roy Jones because they train hard no matter what."

"Believe it or not, my training for this fight has been the better than ever. The break was a real godsend because I'm just so fresh and hungry now. We spent the time during the break going back to the drawing board. Instead of training so hard we toned things down and went back to basics. I've perfected a lot of angles and my bodywork is now 400 percent better than it ever was. I know that if I hit any man on the chin I can knock him out, but now my body attack is unbelievable. It's added a whole new dimension to my boxing and given me a lot more options to my arsenal. Also, I've had some of my best sparring ever and I've been able to do things while sparring that we've been concentrating on in the gym. A lot of guys work on things and then get in a fight and aren't able to use it, but I know that what I'm doing in sparring is going to come out in the ring. Even though I was very frustrated during the long break I had, it's been really good for me in the long run as I'm really hungry again."

With Roy Jones now just a tourist and Dariuz Michalczewski dethroned and talking retirement, the light heavyweight division offers opportunities that have not existed in years. Manager/trainer Waterhouse has been navigating Briggs up the WBC rankings and feels that with Paul now in the mandatory challenger position, the title is just around the corner and theirs for the taking. "Paul hasn't fought since Jorge Castro which was on April the thirteenth," said Waterhouse. "He likes to fight five times a year, so the fight on Friday against Zabala is to keep him busy. Glenn Wheatley with Talentworks is the guy who promoted the Kostya Tszyu fight with Jesse James Leija in Melbourne, so we really wanted to do something with him in conjunction with Blaster Promotions, which is run by Terry Caradonna. They said that they'd like to put Paul on at their venue so we told them we'd get an opponent."

"Now, the WBC had already ruled that Paul has to fight Stipe Drews, the European champion, so we basically took a fight to keep Paul active and make a few bucks to live on. When you're number one in the world, every fight is important, so we're taking this one quite seriously. Then, hopefully straight after the Jones-Tarver fight next weekend, we'll know where we stand. If Jones wins, he's already indicated he doesn't want the belts and he's going to relinquish those and go away. If so, then the fight with Drews would hopefully become for the vacant world title. Jones has about two weeks to make up his mind because he has an extension from the WBA to keep the heavyweight title. If Jones maintains that, which I think he will because he's looking for a fight with Tyson, he'll make some money and then vacate the WBC title. At that point we go into negotiations with and a purse bid with Drews' people to find out whether we have the fight here in Australia or we do it in Germany."

Briggs has recently become a father for the second time and was not only able to attend the birth this time around, but actually participated as well, which could not have been any more different from the birth of his first child. "When I won the Australian light heavyweight championship a few years ago, my wife was actually giving birth to our son 20 minutes before I got into the ring," he said. "It was a very hard fight to have as I was so drained emotionally. I heard my son's voice as they were gloving me up. He'd just been born and the phone rang, so my brother put it to my ear and it was the first time I ever heard my son. I was a mess. I burst into tears and was all emotional as they were gloving me up. The promoter came out and said 'What's going on?' That was crazy, so it was actually nice to be at the birth this time. We had it at home and I delivered my daughter. It was just awesome, so that's my second child. I've got a little boy and a little girl now and that's all we're having. Mentally, that fight when my son was born was very hard, but once I jumped that hurdle I knew I could pretty much do anything."

Paul Briggs is on the verge of something big and if things go as expected in the light heavyweight division, we'll see "The Hurricane" with the opportunity to realize his lifelong goal of winning a world championship belt and perhaps break stateside as well. "My promoter, Glenn Wheatley, is going to be at the Roy Jones fight and he'll have meetings with people like Jay Larkin of Showtime as well as the guys at HBO," he said. "We'd like to see what we can do out there in America, considering I'm going to be the next champ (laughs). I'm really glad Julio Gonzalez beat Michalczewski. It's great for Julio and it's great for the division because it means there's going to be some great fights coming up, where I can hopefully become the champ. I think the division will open up as there was no real challenge for Roy Jones but I do wish he would've hung around for me. I think it's going to become an exciting division with some exciting fighters and some exciting potential."

Boxingtalk.com would like to thank Paul Briggs and Rod Waterhouse for making this article possible.

However, President Suliaman stresses that the matter is not done yet, “Briggs requested the elimination bout for October, which we accepted but not as a final elimination which would produce an official challenger for the title. So if Briggs fights anybody but Julio Gonzalez, the winner would be #1 but they would be subjected to whatever the convention decides in accordance to our rules.”

www.realboxing.com

By Clive Bernath: Former undefeated British, Commonwealth and European light-heavyweight champion Clinton Woods is set to meet Miami–based Jamaican Glencoffe Johnson in an IBF final eliminator in September.

The 32 year-old’s promoter Dennis Hobson confirmed to the British Buzz that Woods will fight Johnson, for the right to face IBF light-heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver, on either September 12 or 19, depending on when a tv date becomes available.

“ That fight will go on in Sheffield,” said Hobson. “ We have been negotiating with the IBF and they are happy for the winner of Clinton and Glencoffe Johnson to fight Tarver.”

The Fight Academy promoted card will be supported by the vacant British cruiserweight title fight between Robert Norton and Mark Hobson.

By Clive Bernath: Former undefeated British, Commonwealth and European light-heavyweight champion Clinton Woods is still not sure what route he will be taking towards another world title shot.

The WBC No.1 contender was to have fought Australian WBC No.2 Paul Briggs in a final eliminator, on route to WBC/IBF champion Antonio Tarver but when promoters Sports Network withdrew from staging the fight following a successful purse bid, the bout was temporarily put on the back burner.

There is also now talk of an IBF eliminator against American Montell Griffin as a possible alternative route to Tarver.

However Woods’ manager Dennis Hobson told SecondsOut. “ We are keeping our option open. Yes there has been talk of Montell Griffin but we are still firmly back in negotiations for the Briggs fight.

“What I will say though is that a decision must be and will be made within the next week.”

By Craig Watt

WBC#1 and IBF#4 light heavyweight Clinton Woods (35-2) is keen to take on WBC/IBF champion Antonio Tarver by the end of 2003. He was due to face Aussie Paul Briggs (20-1) in a WBC elimination bout in September after Frank Warren won the purse bids but Warren has since withdrawn his offer and Woods is now looking for a September match-up with either Montell Griffin or Glencoffee Johnson to maintain his mandatory position. Woods was defeated by Roy Jones in Portland, Oregan in September 2002 but has since won his last three all by stoppage. He puts his new impetus down to former heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon becoming his trainer and relocating his boxing camp to Philadelphia where he is now based at the James Shuler Memorial Gym. This has given him much improved sparring, and under the guidance of Witherspoon, some excellent support.

He spoke to Fightnews from his Sheffield home as he prepares to once again fly out to the USA for his final fight preparations.

What is the current position regarding Aussie Paul Briggs and the proposed WBC elimination bout?
The fight went to purse bids last month and Frank Warren successfully won the bid but has since withdrawn his offer and the fight is a little up in the air. I understand that Frank was upset with the WBC about Arturo Gatti jumping to number one in the Jr-welterweight division and freezing Ricky Hatton out of a possible WBC interim fight. Nevertheless I will continue to train and we are currently trying to negotiate a bout with Montell Griffin who recently lost to Antonio Tarver or Glencoffee Johnson. The Briggs door is not closed but I will leave the fight details to Dennis Hobson and I will continue to train and spar for a September bout.

Woods, the WBC's top contender and Briggs, rated No. 2, will meet to decide the next challenger for America's WBC and IBF champion Antonio Tarver. The deal follows the Briggs camp winning a purse bid in Los Angeles yesterday to stage the fight.

The fighters will share a purse of $275,000 after the offer proposed by Briggs' British promoter Frank Warren beat the bid from Woods' manager of $250,000. Briggs goes into the fight on the back of his stirring 10-round decision over Argentina's former world middleweight champion Jorge Castro.

His manager Rod Waterhouse said yesterday he was delighted with the deal and the fact Warren was promoting the fight. It means that even though we are going to England we will be dictating terms with our promoter backing the fight," Waterhouse said."Because Frank Warren has ties to the Showtime network in America and Antonio Tarver is aligned with the rival channel HBO, it means a victory over Woods will result in a bidding war for the world title fight.

"It turns the purse for Paul from $255,000 to something like $800,000 and if he can get over Tarver it opens up huge markets around the world."

Jeff Harding, Australia's only world light-heavyweight champ, held the title twice between 1989 and 1994.

By Tony Nobbs

Rod Waterhouse, the trainer manager of OPBF Light Heavyweight Champion Paul ‘Hurricane’ Briggs informed Eastside this morning that agent Sampson Lewkowitcz successfully negotiated a deal in conjunction with promoter Frank Warren to stage the Briggs – Clinton Woods fight by winning the purse bid at the WBC offices in Los Angeles yesterday.

The twelve rounder between the WBC’s top two contenders to determine the mandatory for Antonio Tarver’s Title has been set for Saturday August 30 in Manchester, England. Dennis Hobson representing Woods bid US$ 162,050 with Warren bidding US$ 171, 500.

“We are extremely happy about Frank Warren and his Sport Network company coming on board. He and Sampson have done a great job putting this fight together” said Waterhouse.

“It’s great to be doing business with England’s premier promoter. He’s delivered everything he has said he would. And we cannot thank Sampson enough for what he has done for Paul’s career. After securing us the Jorge Castro fight, he has got us Woods. Sampson will be involved in all our business in future”.

While carving his way up the ladder, Briggs often spoke of a desire to challenge for the Commonwealth Title Woods held before challenging Roy Jones last September and even spent time training in the U.K before a stint with Freddie Roach in California in late 2001. And Waterhouse says his 27 year old fighter is thrilled to finally get the oppurtunity.

“We might be fighting in Woods’ backyard but it will make no difference. Paul will show him what a true warrior is. We have been wanting to fight Woods, amongst others for a long time. But they have never been interested as they have seen Paul and know what he is capable of, despite what they’ve been saying recently. With nine or so weeks to prepare and with the Jorge Castro fight under his belt, Paul will be ready, willing and more than able for this bloke.

We are looking forward to knocking out Clinton Woods and then go on and take the WBC and IBF Titles from Antonio Tarver”.

Briggs and Woods are rated number four and eight respectively for Tarver’s IBF Belt with the top two spots vacant and number three Julio Gonzales. Former WBA Middleweight Champion Castro was rated five WBC and seven IBF when dominated by Paul in April and a victory over his second straight top ten oponent should see Briggs (20-1, 16 KO) elevated to top spot by the IBF as well.

Since being stopped in six rounds by Jones, Woods (35-2, 21 KO) has scored inside the distance wins over Sergio Martin Beaz, Arturo Rivera and Demetrius Jenkins and was looking to sidestep the hard punching Aussie and directly challenge Tarver.

Paul “Hurricane” Briggs’ American agent Sampson Lewkowicz, on behalf of promoter Frank Warren, outbid Clinton Woods’ promoter/manager Dennis Hobson by $us9,450 at the WBC’s Los Angeles office on Thursday June 19.
Winning purse bid of $us171,500 (approx $au280,000) will see Briggs and Woods in the ring over 12-rounds in Manchester, England on August 30. The fight will determine the mandatory challenger to champion Antonio Tarver and will face the champion before the end of the year.

Briggs’ trainer/manager Rod Waterhouse is pleased with the outcome and more than happy with the fight going to Woods’ backyard under Warren’s banner.
”If we had lost the purse bid we may have had to put up with all sorts of crazy housing and training schedules, but we now will have a say in training, travel and accommodation, which will make a huge difference in preparation. Paul couldn’t be happier and I am looking forward to going over there and coming home with chocolates”, said Waterhouse

Frank Warren signed Briggs earlier this week to one-year, three fight deal, which yours truly can’thelp but to speculate it may include a showdown with promoter’s biggest star, WBO super middleweightchamp Joe Calzaghe.

Waterhouse plans to take Briggs to England three weeks before the fight to acclimatize, adjust to surroundings and settle down. He also plans to speak with Jeff Fenech in the next day or two to discuss Danny Green’s availability as sparring partner in the lead-up to the fight.

Australian National Boxing Federation president Brad Vocale, who had been aggressively lobbying forthis eliminator to eventuate, had today this to say:“It is tremendous news for Paul and Rod, who have worked so hard to get where they are today. There have been many anxious moments, with many highsand equally as many lows in the sense of the uncertainty of what may or may not happen next.

“Waterhouse has been a rock of Gibraltar behind Briggs and he deserves most of the accolades, whileBriggs does the fighting, it is Waterhouse who mapped out his future plans and set the strategy still while hardly knowing any of the top line promoters or matchmakers around the globe. Also, he has personally worn the hard felt financial knocks outside of the ring to get where they are today.

“Paul Briggs is a terrific young athlete who deserves everything he gets, he takes no short cuts, and does exactly what is asked of him without question, he is a proven fine ambassador for Australia and he is now just one fight away from the chance he deserves.

“It wont be easy fighting a quality opponent like Clinton Woods in his own backyard, however, this is what champions do, ‘they have the ability to go behind enemy lines, do as much damage as possiblein a short time and get the hell out of there’.
Briggs rise into the top two position of the WBC has been blistering, he is willing and ready to fight anyone at almost any time and is prepared tojustify his rating.

“Another rock of Gibraltar for Australian Boxing over many years is WBC ratings Chairman Frank Quill from Melbourne. Quill is a quietly spoken and unpretentious man who simply gets the job done without fanfare and hoopla, he is very honest, forthright and rock solid behind anyone who he believes isdoing the right thing, He is a credit to Australian boxing, yet hardly gets a mention. Much of the hard work has been completed by Frank Quill in securing Briggs’ rightful spot in world boxing circles.

“Like everyone else, I too am a real fan of the sport. We can all now just wait and see what the next few very exciting months bring to boxing here in Australia, for me it's beginning to look like 1968 all over again. This could be just the kick-start Australian boxing needs, lets all get behind these young fighters who are now so very close to achieving every fighters dream, of becoming "The Champion of all the World."

“We are very pleased with the agreement,” said Rod Waterhouse, Briggs’ manager/trainer. “Frank Warren is one of the world’s leading boxing promoters and it will be a pleasure working with him.”

With the Woods and Briggs parties not being able to come to an agreement for their mandated clash, it will now go to a purse bid at the World Boxing Council offices in Mexico City on June 19 to determine the promotional rights.

The 27 year-old Briggs is a former world kick-boxing champion and earned his No.2 rating with an impressive ten round shut-out win over former middleweight world champion Jorge Castro on the Gold Coast, Australia in April.
http://www.secondsout.com/world/news_52387.asp

WORLD’S leading boxing promoter Frank Warren has signed Australia’s future world champ WBC #2 light heavyweight Paul “Hurricane” Briggs for his upcoming world title eliminator with UK’s Clinton Woods (WBC #1), to determine the mandatory challenger for champion Antonio Tarver who acquired the title (vacated by Roy Jones) last April by outpointing Montell Griffin.

Woods, his manager/promoter Dennis Hobson and matchmaker Don Majeski (who acted for Briggs but favoured Woods/Tarver clash) had tried extremely hard to wriggle their way out of the eliminator and started negotiating with Tarver camp, even though there was a WBC order in existence.

In a recent interview Woods said: “Paul Briggs just beat Jorge Castro, but the Argentinean was six years past his best. I’m sure I’d do a job on Briggs, but right now without the title on the line, there is not much money for that fight. "I’d rather win the belt from Tarver and make the first defence against Briggs. That way there is more money for everyone."

WBC order required the two camps to come to an agreement by June 8, but as this didn’t eventuate it will now go to a purse bid at the WBC’s office in Mexico City on June 19 to determine the promotional rights.

WBC Sets June 8 deadline for Briggs/Woods
10may03 - Sunday Telegraph, Sydney

THE World Boxing Council today ordered Australian Paul Briggs and Englishman Clinton Woods to fight a mandatory final eliminator for its light heavyweight title.

WBC champion Antonio Tarver, who last month won the title vacated by fellow American Roy Jones, must make an immediate mandatory defence against the victor of the Briggs-Woods bout.
Woods is the No.1 WBC contender while Briggs was promoted to two following his points victory last month against Argentina's former middleweight world champion Jorge Castro.

If the Briggs and Woods camps do not reach an agreement for the fight within 30 days, the bout will go to a purse bid.

Queenslander Briggs, 27, has won 20 of his 21 fights while 31-year-old Woods has notched 34 victories and two defeats.

Should Woods opt not to fight Briggs, third ranked Thomas Ulrich of Germany would probably take his place.

http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au

The WBC light heavyweight championship today became vacant when Roy Jones opted instead to defend his World Boxing Association heavyweight belt.

While it was widely rumoured over the past week Briggs would fight Englishman Clinton Woods for the title if it was vacated by Jones, Sulaiman said his preferred manner of finding a new champion was a multi-boxer tournament.

He did however suggest there was a strong chance of Briggs featuring in the tournament, which could include any number of boxers from three upwards following the Australian's impressive unanimous points win over WBC fifth-ranked contender Jorge Castro on the Gold Coast last Sunday.

"It was a very important win, and let me tell you I will do my very best to include him (Briggs) in some kind of tournament if we go into that," Sulaiman said.

He said the WBC board of governors would be consulted on the method of determining a new WBC light heavyweight champion.

By Paul Upham: Seconds Out
WBC No.7 Paul Briggs, 20-1 (16), boxed a near shut-out in defeating WBC No.5 Jorge Castro, 123-9-3 (85), in a WBC light heavyweight eliminator on Sunday afternoon at the Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast in Australia. Briggs battered the tough Argentinean throughout the fight with a series of right hands that hurt the man with the best chin in boxing.

“I didn’t come here tonight to impress anyone or set any records. The idea was just to win,” said Briggs (pictured) in the ring after the fight. “I really wanted to get ten rounds under my belt. I’ve been knocking everyone out. I just proved tonight I can do ten rounds easy. I beat Jorge Castro, this guy is an absolute legend. I was just too fast, too quick. I think he seriously underestimated me, but that’s his problem. My next fight is against Clinton Woods for the world title.”

“I think Paul did very well against a great opponent,” said Briggs’ trainer Rod Waterhouse. “People who really know how good Jorge Castro is, will know how good a fight this was for Paul.”

Judges scored the bout for 27 year-old Briggs 99-91, 99-91 and 100-91. SecondsOut scored the bout for the winner 99-91. 35 year-old Castro had entered the ring looking extremely confident but was unable to deal effectively with the speed, power and enthusiasm of the “Hurricane”.

“After I knock out Clinton Woods, I will create history by being the first man on the planet to be a kick boxing world champion and a boxing world champion. I will bring it back to Australia and I will dominate the division,” said Briggs.

Also on the card, world Muay-Thai kick-boxing champion “John” Wayne Parr 10-2 (10) made an explosive return to the sport with a brutal one round knockout over Mike Cope 2-4-1 (2) who was nearly knocked through the ropes by a short left hook in a bout at middleweight. At junior middleweight, Paul Lee 2-3 (2) upset the highly favoured Steven Ng 1-1 (1) by fifth round TKO, while Ty Allen 6-2-1 (2) won an impressive six round points decision over Paul Tapley 3-2-1 (2) at welterweight.

"Paul "Hurricane" Briggs and Jorge Castro came face to face today, for a press conference to promote Sunday's WBC Light Heavyweight title eliminator.

The winner of Sunday's fight at the Carrara Sports Complex, Gold Coast, looks increasingly likely to fight England's Clinton Woods for the WBC title, according to Sunday's referee and WBC official, Brad Vocale.

While Briggs and Castro have the utmost respect for each other, both are predicting fireworks once the gloves are on.

"If I don't knock him out in the 5th round then I am going to have to hurt him, and I don't want to hurt him," Castro said.

Briggs later responded with: "There is no way he (Castro) is going to dog it. You could chop both his legs off and he will crawl across the ring and try and bite you. I'm the same, so believe me someone is going to get knocked out, and it isn't going to be me."

Briggs, 19-1 (16 ko), said he respected the former WBA Middleweight champion for coming over to Australia and taking the fight, when many of the other rated contenders priced themselves out.

Castro believes that his biggest asset will be his experience, which didn't seem to bother the hard hitting Australian, "I'm going to take him into deep waters and drown him."

Both fighters believe that their preparation has been perfect. "I feel very strong," said the Argentinean, through a translator.

"I've never trained this hard, ever. I've tortured myself for eleven weeks, I don't even know myself", Briggs said.

Castro's camp has requested to the WBC that an interpreter should be allowed in his corner, to avoid any confusion like there was in Germany in 2000. Castro was mistakenly ruled unfit to continue his bout against Juan Carlos Gomez, due to the language barrier between himself and the referee.

"I will go anywhere to fight. I have a self-belief that I will always be able to do the job in the ring. I have come here to win," said Castro.When asked for a prediction on the outcome of Sunday’s fight Castro replied, "You pick the round and I will knock him out!"

The 35 year-old former WBA middleweight champion arrived with his own doctor who has been with him since 1994 and a new trainer of six weeks Jose Gueeara, this being Castro’s first trip to Australia.

Speaking about his opponent Castro said, "He’s a strong boy and I must be careful. The only possible way he will be able to beat me if he kicks me in the head," referring to Briggs’ former career as a world champion kick-boxer.

"I have trained really hard for this fight and I am feeling better now than I did when I was 25," he said. "There will be no excuses. This is my opportunity to get back to being amongst the elite of boxing and win the WBC light heavyweight title."

Castro added that he doesn’t like to trash talk, "I am here strictly for business," he said.

Acclaimed in Argentina as one of the countries all-time great boxers along with middleweight legend Carlos Monzon, after winning the world title in August 1994, Castro was greeted at home with a street parade in front of over 100,000 people.

Hailing from the province of Moron in Buenos Aires, Castro has fourteen children, eight boys and six girls, ranging in age from six months to nineteen years and he has had seven wives.

After a 35 hour trip from Argentina via Santiago, New Zealand and Sydney, Castro arrived in Brisbane sporting green, red, yellow and purple hair. The green is for the victory while the rest of the colours signify his ruby crown when he wins the fight and he changes the colour of his hair for every fight.

After such a phenomenal career, Castro was asked if he could nominate his hardest fight.

"My toughest opponent was David Jackson," he said. "He hit me all over the place and hit me harder than I have ever been hit before." The December 1994 battle, which Castro won by 9th round TKO, was voted by "Ring Magazine" as the Fight of the Year.

Tickets for Sunday’s exciting six fight card presented by Fistic Fury Promotions in association with promoter Craig Mordey, are now on sale at Ticketek on-line www.ticketek.com.au or by telephone in Queensland (07) 3404 6700 or in NSW (02) 9266 4800, with the arena seating 4300. Ringside tickets limited to 500, will be sold for $199 each and will include entry, drinks and food at the exclusive after fight party at the Quest Lounge Bar in Broadbeach. Gold section tickets are $150, Silver section tickets are $90 and General admission tickets $55.

Castro has definitely not travelled so far to be an opponent and is expecting a great performance to get to the top of the WBC ratings and secure another world title shot.

"I don’t need money, boxing has been kind to me. My motivation is to become world champion again," he said. "I am very proud that in 134 fights I have only been stopped once, a technical decision, not a real knockout. To me my record is intact."

Castro looked very strong and in good condition and from the airport travelled to the Gold Coast by car where he started training at the Burleigh Gym. He intends training twice a day up until Saturday.

The final media conference will be held on Friday at midday at the Quest Lounge Bar in Broadbeach. All fighters on the card will be in attendance and available for interviews. The official weigh-in will be held at the same venue on Saturday at midday and is open to the public.

Sunday's Full card

WBC light heavyweight eliminator - Paul Briggs vs. Jorge Castro, 10 rounds

IBF Pan Pacific & OPBF cruiserweight titles - Simon Patterson vs. Glen Kelly, 12 rounds

Australian light heavyweight title - Jason De Lisle vs. Paul Smallman, 12 round

middleweight - Wayne Parr vs. Mike Cope, 6 rounds

junior middleweight - Steven Ng vs. Paul Lee, 6 rounds

welterweight - Ty Allen vs. Paul Tapley, 6 rounds

Paul Briggs fired up by Castro comments

By Paul Upham: WBC No.7 light heavyweight Paul Briggs, 19-1 (16), has been fired up by comments made by WBC No.5 Jorge Castro, 123-8-3 (85), in the lead-up to their ten round world title eliminator on April 13 at the Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast in Australia.

Last week Castro brushed aside his cruiserweight world title loss a year ago and predicted an easy win over Briggs. “When I boxed Vassiliy Jirov (IBF cruiserweight champion) I took him for a ride. I suffered a dislocated shoulder in round six - I boxed the next six rounds with that injury. I plan to take Briggs to school - not for a ride,” said Castro. “I think he is greatly underestimating me,” said Paul Briggs, in response to his opponent’s comments.

Before concentrating solely on his boxing career, Briggs was a world champion kick-boxer and became a phenomenal star in Japan with a record of 51 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw, with 38 wins coming by knockout.

“People seem to forget that I have been in the ring with guys who have had over 200 fights throwing knees and elbows at me. Fighting someone who has had over 130 fights is no tougher. I know that I am at the top of my game. I am so hungry, I am so fit and punching so hard and accurate that if anyone I fight is hittable, I will knock them out. Unfortunately for Castro, he is very hittable. I love the fact that he is coming into this fight with this huge reputation as having a granite chin. It will really show people how hard I’m going to punch him.”

The more Briggs has read of the former WBA middleweight champion’s comments the more he is looking forward to the fight. “Briggs is green and I will show Australia how an Argentine warrior, who has had over 130 fights will teach Briggs a lesson,” said Castro. “After the win over Briggs, I will fight for the WBC light heavyweight crown. Briggs can learn from this experience.”

“I’m pretty revved up. Hearing things like that brings the growl out of me,” said Briggs.

“My whole career, ever since I’ve been fighting when I was 15, I have always risen with the harder the fight, the bigger the name or the reputation, the better I fight. I’ve been waiting 18 months for a big name like this. I think I am getting him at the right time in his career, but I hope he is fit because I don’t want to be fighting a washed up Castro. I want the best possible Jorge Castro to really show where I am with my career.

“A lot of people might not think a lot of this comment, but I don’t think a lot of Vassiliy Jirov either. He is a big puncher, but I watched their fight and he fought Castro’s fight. They stood on each other’s toes and brawled away. It’s just the wrong way to fight Castro. I don’t think Castro is going to have much of an answer to what I am going to be dishing out to him. I don’t think he is going to be able to handle my power or my speed. I’m not going to be there for him to hit. I’m not going to stand in front of him like everyone else he has fought. I do have a fairly unorthodox style considering that I have come across from kick-boxing. The last few weeks we have been working on my footwork and you are going to see a very polished boxer in against Jorge Castro.”

27 year-old Briggs, who is currently rated No.7 in the world by the WBC, will face 35 year-old Castro who is rated No.5 by the same sanctioning body. The winner has been guaranteed the No.2 ranking by the WBC.

Tickets for the exciting six fight card presented by Fistic Fury Promotions in association with promoter Craig Mordey, are now on sale at Ticketek on-line or by telephone in Queensland (07) 3404 6700 or in NSW (02) 9266 4800, with the arena seating 4300. Ringside tickets limited to 500, will be sold for $199 each and will include entry, drinks and food at the exclusive after fight party at the Quest Lounge Bar in Broadbeach. Gold section tickets are $150, Silver section tickets are $90 and General admission tickets $55.

Castro will arrive in Australia only four days before the fight and seems to be taking his trip ‘Downunder’ as a safe holiday tour. “That’s beautiful,” said Briggs. “I’m not just going to stop him. I really want to sit him on his arse!”

35 year-old Castro is a former WBA middleweight champion and has the most wins for any current active boxer in the world today. His record over 16 years is an outstanding 123 wins, 8 losses, 3 draws with 85 wins coming by knockout.

"When I boxed Vassiliy Jirov (IBF cruiserweight champion) I took him for a ride. I suffered a dislocated shoulder in round six - I boxed the next six rounds with that injury. I plan to take Briggs to school - not for a ride," said Castro.

"Briggs is green and I will show Australia how an Argentine warrior, who has had over 130 fights will teach Briggs a lesson. After the win over Briggs, I will fight for the WBC light heavyweight crown. Briggs can learn from this experience. I call all Argentine people living in Australia who can be at the fight, to bring the Argentine flag and support their countryman. I am very fit and training very hard - the win over Briggs will put me on top again."

27 year-old Briggs, who is currently rated No.7 in the world by the WBC, will face Castro who is rated No.5 by the same sanctioning body. The winner has been guaranteed the No.2 ranking by the WBC.

Before concentrating solely on his boxing career, Paul Briggs was a world champion kick-boxer and became a phenomenal star in Japan with a record of 51 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw, with 38 wins coming by knockout. A devastating power puncher, his boxing career record now stands at 19 wins, 1 loss, with 16 wins coming by knockout.

"This is exactly the type of fight I wanted straight after my last fight on the Kostya Tszyu-James Leija undercard," said Briggs.

"My whole career, ever since I’ve been fighting when I was 15, I have always risen with the harder the fight, the bigger the name or the reputation, the better I fight."

WBC light heavyweight elminator -
Paul Briggs vs. Jorge Castro, 10 rounds

IBF Pan Pacific & OPBF crusierweight titles -
Simon Patterson vs. Glen Kelly, 12 rounds

Australian light heavyweight title -
Jason De Lisle vs. Paul Smallman, 12 rounds

middleweight -
Wayne Parr vs. Mike Cope, 6 rounds

junior middleweight -
Steven Ng vs. Paul Lee, 6 rounds

welterweight -
Ty Allen vs. Paul Tapley, 6 rounds

BRIGGS-CASTRO APRIL 13!
Story : Tony Nobbs
Rod Waterhouse, trainer manager of WBC number eight Lt Heavyweight Paul Briggs, confirmed to Eastside today that Argentinia's former WBA Middleweight Champion of the world Jorge Castro has agreed to terms and will meet his charge at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast on Sunday, April 13.

"I have just been informed that Castro has accepted the offer and the fight will be a great opportunity for Paul to move up in the WBC ratings as Castro is currently three positions above Paul at number five.

With Roy Jones moving to Heavyweight and Antonio Tarver and Montell Griffin fighting for he IBF Title, the winner of his fight will be in a great position. And to snare it in Australia is a bonus. Castro is a genuine big name who has been in with everybody and has unbelievable experience." said Waterhouse from his Gold Coast home-gymnasium.

Waterhouse added that the bout was organized in conjunction with Samson Lukawitz and Australian agent Danny Leigh. The thirty five year old Castro has a 123-8-3, 85 KO record and last fought in December, scoring a nine round knockout of Miguel Angel Robledo in Santa Cruz, Argentina.

He went twelve rounds with Vassily Jirov for the IBF Cruiserweight Title in Febuary last year and went ten with JC Gomes for the WBC 190 lb belt in December 2000. A professional since 1987, he captured the 160 lb world Title by outpointing Reggie Johnson in Tucuman Argentina, August 12, 1994.He made four successful defences including his come from behind ninth round knockout of John David Jackson in 1994's fight of the year and a repeat decision over Johnson in October 1995. He lost the Title to Shinji Takehara in Tokyo, in December of '95.

Prior to winning the Title he'd lost on points to Terry Norris in Paris for the WBC 154 lb belt in 1991 and a ten round verdict to an up and coming Roy Jones in Pensacola in 1992. He spit two decisions with Roberto Duran in 1997.

The raging 27 year old "Hurricane", Briggs (19-1, 16 KO) scored a 1st round TKO over Mississippi's Brad McNeil on the Tszyu-Leija undercard on January 19 and He has recorded stoppages in his last seven bouts, including a four round KO of Glenn Kelly on September 18.

AFTER months of phone calls, e and pigeon mails, which resulted in failed negotiations and emphatic knock-backs by some of the world's high ranking punchers, Paul Briggs' trainer /manager Rod Waterhouse has managed to secure a fight with high credentialed Argentine Jorge Castro.

Castro, 35, former WBA middleweight champion now WBC's #5 light heavyweight with 123 wins (85 by way of KO) 8 losses 1 draw under his belt will do battle with Briggs in a non-title10 rounder at Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast on Sunday April 13.

OPBF's light heavyweight champion Paul Briggs, 27, currently ranked WBC #8 and IBF #10 light heavyweight with a record of 19 wins (16 KOs) 1 loss has booked Danny Green, Jason DeLisle, and Gurkan Ozkan as sparring partners to ensure he's got all the angles covered for the must win fight.

On the same program Glen Kelly will do battle with Simon Paterson for the vacant OPBF cruiserweight title, Jason Delisle will defend his Australian light heavyweight title either against Paul Smallman or Steve McIvor

Junior middleweights Steve Ng and Paul Lee will sort themselves out over a 6 rounds, welterweights Paul Tapley and Ty Allen is sure to be a good stoush over 6 and Wayne Parr, who is making a comeback to Queensberry rules, is sure to breeze through 6 rounds with Mike Cope.

IBF Pan Pac heavyweight champion Kali Meehan might also get a guernsey providing the cost of the proposed US opponent aren't prohibitive.

It is envisaged Main Event (PPV) will telecast the promotion and bookings will be available through Ticketek (sale date TBC). 13 1931 www.ticketek.com