Bryant Jennings Q&A ahead of fight with Chris Koval on September 8th

By Boxing News - 09/04/2012 - Comments

Image: Bryant Jennings Q&A ahead of fight with Chris Koval on September 8thBy Ian Aldous: Bryant Jennings (14-0) continues his journey towards to the top of the heavyweight division when he faces Chris Koval (25-9) on September 8th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The fight will be a co-main event on an afternoon card featuring former world cruiserweight champions, Tomasz Adamek and Steve Cunningham in heavyweight action. This past week Bryant took the time to talk with me ahead of fight night.

You’ve already fought on a Tomasz Adamek undercard. What’s it like fighting in a big sold-out arena with a great atmosphere? It’s something that not too many fighters experience in modern-day boxing.

BJ “Well, you get to showcase in front of a live audience. The intensity level is kind of higher and you get a little excited but at the same time it may bring some nervousness or some calmness, you need a balanced level and you just try to feel comfortable.”

You’ve gained some great exposure with your recent victories being broadcast on NBC Sports. How happy are you with how your career has developed so far?

BJ “Well, yeah, I can’t ask for nothing better. It’s exceeded all expectations.”

You’re only 27 years of age. Do you feel like you’re anywhere near your prime yet?

BJ “No, I can’t be. I mean, I just started boxing, so I can’t be.”

Some people harshly criticized the fact that you didn’t finish Steve Collins in your last contest. How confident are you that you can finish Chris Koval on September 8th?

BJ “I’m very confident that I can finish a lot of guys. I’m new to the boxing game so I don’t wanna go in there and be blowing guys out even though I should’ve done that (against Collins). I’m focusing on more things. You’ve got a lot of guys that can’t go the rounds and you’ve got a lot of these guys never been past five or six rounds. I wanna make sure I can do all that before I get into this boxing thing.”

America has been starved of truly great heavyweights for a while now. You’re starting to make a name for yourself in the division. Other than yourself, who do you think is the best heavyweight in America?

BJ “You’ve only gotta go by records. To be honest with you, you’ve got Eddie Chambers; you’ve got Tomasz (Adamek)……………… there’s like a long pause! Not taking nothing away from Seth Mitchell but he’s got a lot of things he’s gotta work on, so I wouldn’t call him a great fighter. He’s just a strong fighter, he’s blowing guys out but he’s not really showing things that will be spectacular other than what’s expected of a heavyweight, which is power.”

If you could look into the future, where would you like to be one year from now?

BJ “I’d like to have either fought for the heavyweight title and be the champion already or getting ready for that fight then and there.”

What are your thoughts on the Tomasz Adamek vs. Travis Walker main event?

BJ “I know Adamek is real smart. He don’t get himself into nothing he can’t handle. I take it that he knows that he’s gonna beat this guy. I haven’t really seen or heard too much of Travis Walker, so I’m going with Adamek on this one.”

“Ironbound Throwdown” September 8th at Newark’s Prudential Center features Tomasz Adamek vs. Travis Walker, Bryant Jennings vs. Chris Koval and Steve Cunningham vs. Jason Gavern. Tickets priced at $180 ringside, $105, and $55 are available through Ticketmaster: online at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=lz4ttydab&et=1104906139002&s=0&e=001LkknLrfqu0K65PpbNMwjr-9xjkHIndAeRp4Y0dnLfN2WxHztnWMWUno78sZ-mWtIOxND7mOjqP0mFxseCGXKqFVSJmgC6SfjmmuaaC3v_N7D829HA9fAdQ==&id=preview; Charge-by-phone: 1-800-745-3000 Ticketmaster Express 866-448-7849; and Ticketmaster ticket centers. Tickets are also available at Prudential Center’s Box Office and http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=yxxualfab.0.0.lz4ttydab.0&id=preview&ts=S0602&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.prucenter.com%2F.

The fight will be available in Poland on PPV. WealthTV will begin airing undercard bouts live at 3PM ET nationally on Verizon FiOS TV channel 169 and 669 in HD, AT&T U-Verse TV channels 470 and 1470 in HD, along with over 100 cable systems across the country.

Prudential Center doors will open at 1:30PM, first fight is 2:00PM. The card is presented by Main Events in association with Peltz Boxing, and Ziggy Promotions.



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