‘The Cannon’ was promised a fight against Haye when gatecrashing the Briton’s press conference announcement in London earlier this year and duly dropped Zarate twice before taking him out in just 2:22 of the opening session.
Briggs almost ended the fight with his first punch in anger when Zarate was seriously wobbled, but began taking the Argentinian apart with crunching body shots that did sufficient damage to keep the 34 year-old down for the count.
The American looked a weight class above Zarate and won’t be able to take anything from the victory into the Haye clash as Briggs steps up in class for the first time since being humbled by Vitali Klitschko.
‘Dr Ironfist’ pummelled Briggs over twelve rounds in 2010, putting the 44 year-old in hospital and almost ended his career in the process. Brigg has since regrouped and has now won nine fights in a row.
After his win, Briggs was emphatic in promising the British fight fans a big showing against Haye when the pair collide later this year, potentially in some sort of world title eliminator.
