George Foreman vs. Shannon Briggs George Foreman vs. Shannon Briggs George Foreman vs. Shannon Briggs was a professional boxing match contested on November 22, 1997 for the "Lineal" heavyweight championship. After capturing the WBA and IBF titles from Michael Moorer late in 1994, George Foreman would forfeit his WBA title and make only one defense of his IBF portion, narrowly and controversially defeating little-known German fighter Axel Schulz on April 22, 1995. Though the IBF mandated a rematch between the two, Foreman decided against it and chose instead to forfeit the title. As he had not been beaten for either title, Foreman remained the "Lineal"
Michael Moorer trainer Emanuel Steward parted ways after the Cooper fight. Moorer eventually joined Lou Duva's team, and was trained by Georgie Benton for three fights in 1993, including a 10-round decision win over former champion James "Bonecrusher" Smith. Moorer then parted ways with the Duvas and Benton, and hired New York-based trainer Teddy Atlas in late 1993. Moorer closed the year with a 10-round decision over Mike Evans. On April 22, 1994, Moorer challenged Evander Holyfield for the lineal, IBF, and WBA title belts. In round 2 Holyfield sent Moorer down on the canvas, but Moorer overcame and went on to