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 vs. George Foreman match with Riddick Bowe, and relinquished his IBF title on June 28, 1995. Foreman would continue to be recognized as the "Lineal" Heavyweight champion until losing to Shannon Briggs on November 22, 1997. After Foreman was stripped of the IBF title, Schulz met Francois Botha for the now-vacant title. Botha would win the match, but tested positive for steroids after the fight and was stripped of the title. As such, Michael Moorer was given another chance at the title and would face Schulz for the once again vacant title. In a close match, Moorer was able to recapture the IBF