By Scoop Malinowski

Here’s the latest from 33-year-old heavyweight contender Shannon Briggs who is best known for his exciting challenge vs. former WBC champ Lennox Lewis in 1998:

Boxinginsider: Where are you at now in your career, after your latest win, your fifth in a row (KO 2 of Demetrice King at Madison Square Garden in NYC in March)?

Briggs: “I just want to lose weight now Flash (Shannon’s nickname for me), and be consistent. That’s been my biggest downfall - inactivity. Not consistent. There’s no way I can get this rust off of me unless I’m in there monthly. That’s what I have to do, fight my way back into shape. I’m on a George Foreman plan, Bum a month [laughter].”

Boxinginsider: Are you impressed with the current heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko?

Briggs: “I’m very impressed. Believe it or not, I am. He’s awkward, but he’s a very talented, disciplined fighter. And I’m impressed. He might not be the best lookin’ boxer as far as his skill and all that, but he gets the job done. I’m very impressed.”

Boxinginsider: What’s it going to take to beat Vitali in your eyes? What kind of weaknesses do you see that can be exploited?

Briggs: “That’s already been shown, you just have to gut it out with him, take it to those guys. I don’t think they like - they’re doctors and they’re very wealthy men - I don’t think they like to get dirty. I’m from Brooklyn, I’m poor, I’m just a ghetto dude. So they need a guy like me who’s just gonna be scrappy. They’re so talented, they get away with that with their ability. But you just gotta get down and dirty like Brewster did.”