U.S. Shannon 'The Cannon' Briggs (51-5, 45 KOs) has pledged to knockout Ukraine's WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KOs) in the first round in their October 16 bout in Germany's Hamburg.

During their pre-match press conference in Ukraine's Kiev, Briggs said that Klitschko will be his "30-second, first-round victim."

"That's how a lot of my fights end," BoxingScene.com website quoted the 38-year old American fighter as saying.

Klitschko, 39, reacted calmly to the statement, saying many boxers had made similar threats in the past, but had not succeeded.

"The only man who can defeat Vitali Klitschko is Vitali Klitschko. It will be an amazing, exciting fight, full of drama," he said.

Klitschko, who announced in February his plans to abandon professional boxing this year, defended his title recently, beating Poland's Albert Sosnowski by a technical knock-out in the 10th round, although the Ukrainian had a significant size and skills advantage over the Polish fighter.

MOSCOW, August 31 (RIA Novosti)