Expect the Unexpected from Bryant Jennings in Showdown vs. Wladimir Klitschko
Undefeated heavyweight contender Bryant Jennings believes he has a unique skill set, the kind that will ultimately help him dethrone longtime heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. But don’t ask him what his strategy will be. He’s not telling.
“You never know what type of fight I’ll bring,” Jennings told Bleacher Report. “We have all sorts of stuff in mind for Klitschko, and whatever works, we’ll keep doing.”
Jennings (6'3") went so far as to say that he even believes himself capable of outboxing Klitschko (6'6") from long range.
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“I’m very capable of boxing him from the outside,” said Jennings.
If it seems crazy that a fighter giving up three inches in height, one going up against someone with one of the all-time great jabs in heavyweight boxing history, might believe he can win the battle from the outside, consider this: What Jennings lacks in height he more than makes up for with his ridiculously long reach.
“I definitely think that can come into play,” said Jennings of his reach. “But anything can come into play. My youth can come into play. My athleticism can come into play. My power, my jab…but [my long reach] is definitely an attribute of mine that could come into play at any given time in the fight.”
If that sounds cryptic, it’s because Jennings intends it to be.
Still, Jennings’ reach of 84 inches, the measurement of the impressive wingspan adhered to this particular man’s hulking frame, is three inches longer than Klitschko’s, something the latter is not typically used to facing inside a prizefighting ring.
But no matter how he does it, Jennings, from Philadelphia, believes he will become the heavyweight champion of the world on Saturday, April 25, at Madison Square Garden in New York.
And Jennings’ assault on Klitschko’s divisional death grip will be televised live on HBO.
“I’m quite sure he’s overlooking me,” said Jennings. “Me? I never do that. I don’t think past the first bell.”
Having visited both fighters’ training camps within the last couple of weeks, I can unequivocally tell you Klitschko is not overlooking Jennings. Klitschko surrounded himself with images and videos of Jennings at the Lucky Street Boxing Gym in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as he prepared for the fight.
Still, fighters tell themselves all sorts of things to get ready for combat. It doesn’t matter so much what is true; rather what is important is what is true in the fighter’s mind. In Jennings’ mind, Klitschko is thinking about fights against the likes of WBC titleholder Deontay Wilder and top-ranked contender Tyson Fury.
So Jennings believes he will leave the arena the winner.
“After April 25, I’ll be the heavyweight champion of the world.”
Jennings has gone all in on the endeavor. He moved his training camp from Philadelphia to Houston, something he’s done for his last three outings because he feels the solitude there helps him better prepare for the higher-level opponents he’s had to face as he ascended toward the top of the heavyweight rankings.
When I visited Jennings at the beginning of his training camp two months ago, I was struck with a great admiration for the man’s self-reliance. In a sport rife with overblown egos surrounded by sycophantic entourages and other hangers-on, Jennings is a beacon of single-minded clarity and focus.
“I don’t have anybody here to pump me up. Why? Because I don’t need it. I can pump my own self up.”
Jennings said there was no reason to have folks around clapping for him while he trains. He didn’t need extra motivation for the biggest prize in all of sports, and he was going to be in the ring alone against Klitschko on fight night anyway.
“I have to learn how to be the loner at times, because when I am in the ring, there’s nobody I can look to. You know? I can look to my trainer for advice, but I have to wait until the end of the round to do that. I’m on my own mission. I definitely have a great support team, but I’m just here alone. I don’t have any stragglers. I can carry my own bags.”
For Jennings, Houston is home away from home. His camp includes his trainer, Fred Jenkins, and his strength and conditioning coach, Edward “Jack” Jackson. Camp life was quiet at the Main Street Boxing Gym.
“I’m real comfortable here, and being away from home is a little less for me as far as my accessibility to everybody. I can’t really be in Philly like that when I’m getting focused training and stuff like that.”
Jennings' last two wins were against previously undefeated southpaws, something he takes great pride in accomplishing. In January 2014, he stopped Artur Szpilka in 10 rounds. Later that year, Jennings notched a split-decision win over Cuban slickster Mike Perez.
“They were good, talented fighters. They were both undefeated, and both were southpaws. Most people fear facing too many southpaws.”
Still, Jennings knows Klitschko will be the biggest challenge of his life. While Szpilka and Perez are both solid heavyweights, neither has the track record of Klitschko, one of the most statistically dominant heavyweight champions ever.
So what’s the big plan? Jennings wouldn’t tell me no matter how hard I tried.
“I take it one minute at a time. I don’t plan nothing past that first bell because you never know what can happen.”
Jennings did say he didn’t have just one plan of attack. He said he has multiple ideas on ways he can attack the champion and that he is ready and willing to try them all. Moreover, he said fans shouldn’t expect him to sit back and lose a long, boring decision.
“If it comes down to it, I’ll go for broke.”
That’s right. If Jennings feels he’s down on the judges’ scorecards late, he will go for the knockout. In fact, Jennings said the fight would end in a knockout one way or another.
“The fight is going to end in a knockout, either me or him.”
Still, Jennings said not to expect him to mindlessly trade punches with Klitschko the way the champion’s previous opponent, Kubrat Pulev, tried to do last year. Klitschko annihilated Pulev in just five rounds, knocking him to the canvas four times.
“We all know we may take some hits, but Pulev didn’t do it right. He didn’t move. He didn’t change distance. He didn’t move his head. He didn’t do nothing. He literally just stood there and tried to go paw for paw.”
Would Jennings try that?
“Nah.”
Jennings is a good puncher. While he doesn’t seem to possess the one-punch concussive force of Klitschko, he throws hard shots in succession and frequently builds momentum toward knockouts through an accumulation of punches the way former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield would.
Like Jennings, Holyfield was considered undersized for his era.
“That’s one thing people underestimate. Every heavyweight can punch. Most people underestimate my power. I’m not a powerful type of fighter. I’m more technical, but if I have to turn on the power, I can.”
For Jennings, his power punching will be the key to the fight. He said he must establish himself early in the early rounds so Klitschko knows Jennings has the power to hurt him.
“I have to establish myself and let him know I’ve come to fight. He’ll see that. Even if he doesn’t believe it immediately, he’ll see that.”
Whatever happens on Saturday, Jennings wholeheartedly believes he will walk out of Madison Square Garden the first man to defeat Klitschko in over 11 years, and that would be the most unexpected outcome of all.
Kelsey McCarson contributes to Bleacher Report and TheSweetScience.com. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and information were obtained firsthand.
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