Lying on a German hospital bed while recovering from injuries sustained in a fight was not how Shannon Briggs intended to end his boxing career.

However, Briggs’ immediate thoughts indeed focused heavily on the worth of continuing in such a demanding sport. After all, the toll of Briggs’ brutal 12-round loss to heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko required a week in the hospital.

Separation from those days in Germany have changed Briggs’ outlook. Instead of storing away the gloves for good, the Pembroke Pines resident plans to resume fighting.

“I plan on coming back in March or April,” Briggs said before Saturday night’s show at the Westin Diplomat Resort in Hollywood. “This is just something I wanted to do again after a long process of soul searching.”

Whenever Briggs, 40, fights again, it will be his first bout since the loss against Klitschko in October 2010.

“It was heartbreaking, I first considered retiring,” Briggs said. “The thought of not winning the title from Klitschko was painful.

“I have given my body enough time to recover and I am very proud of my conditioning since I returned to the gym.”

Briggs, the last American fighter to have a piece of the heavyweight title, was highly optimistic of returning from Germany with Klitschko’s World Boxing Council belt. But Klitschko proved his skills, wearing down Briggs throughout the bout.

Although Briggs lasted the distance, he sustained noticeable swelling around his face and eyes and sustained a torn bicep injury. Briggs denies he was hospitalized because of concussion-like symptoms.

“There were all kinds of rumors out there that I was in a coma and those were not true,” Briggs said.

Briggs (51-6-1, 45 KOs) won the World Boxing Organization championship with a dramatic 12th-round knockout over Sergei Liakovich in 2006 but lost the belt to Sultan Ibragimov in his first defense the following year. Ever since, Eastern European fighters, notably Vitali Klitschko and his brother, Wladimir, have monopolized the heavyweight belts.

“I am aware that I have to pace myself and we’ll see where we go after my first fight,” Briggs said. “I’m 40 but thankfully, I haven’t been in many wars. The Klitschko fight was the obvious exception.”

During his absence Briggs also began laying the groundwork for a post-fighting career. Briggs joined forces with Acquinity Sports, a South Florida-based Internet marketing company that promoted Saturday’s show.

“You know I’ve always been about promoting myself,” Briggs said. “Now I have an opportunity to do it for a company.”

In the Diplomat card’s main event late Saturday, Hollywood resident Ed Paredes knocked out Michael Lozada in the third round.

In another late bout, Cutler Bay resident Jessy Cruz scored a technical knockout over Travis Hall at 1:18 of the second round.

Hall of fame

Roberto Duran and Aaron Pryor head the list of the 2012 class of the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame. A native of Panama and Miami resident in the 1980s and ’90s, Duran is considered one of the best fighters of the past 50 years. Pryor’s Florida ties are more for his epic 14th-round knockout win over Alexis Arguello on Nov. 12, 1982, at the Orange Bowl.

The new class also will include longtime South Florida ringside physician Stanley Simpson, retired referee Bill Connors and the late fight judge Stu Winston.

The induction ceremony and events will be held June 22-24 in Tampa.