WBO Heavyweight Champion Briggs pulls out of bout with Ibragimov

MOSCOW, February 14 (RIA Novosti) - American WBO Heavyweight Champion Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs (48-4, 42KOs) has pulled out of his March 10 title defense bout against Russia's Sultan Ibragimov (19-0, 16KOs) due to a form of pneumonia.

The official Web site of the Russian Professional Boxing Federation (RPBF) said the bout could be held later, possibly in May, while WBO authorities have proposed that the 31-year-old Russian fight another boxer March 10 in a bout for the so-called title of temporary world champion.

Ibragimov may select any one of the boxers ranked not lower than 15th in the official WBO standings.

The RPBF press service said the Russian team has already begun talks with possible contenders, and an official statement on the results will be made as soon as possible.

In an interview published on the BoxingScene.com Web site, Briggs, 35, said he was disappointed by the postponement, because the bout with the Russian would have been "an easy payday" for him.

"I'm not doing too good," Briggs said. "To me, this was almost $2 million... It was an easy payday for me. Hopefully, we can push it back to May or June, and I will be better."