By Allan Fox: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (63-3, 53 KOs) will be returning to the ring in the next four months to defend his title against either unbeaten Bryant Jennings (19-0, 10 KOs) or Shannon Briggs (57-6-1, 50 KOs) on April 25th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The fight will be televised by HBO. This will be Wladimir’s 18th title defense, and it’s expected to be a very winnable one whether he’s facing Jennings or Briggs. Jennings is the first option for Wladimir, but if his management are unable to iron out a deal with him then they’ll go ahead and look to make the fight with Briggs.
Jennings and Briggs are basically interchangeable in terms of popularity in the United States so it’s not as if it matters which of the two get the fight. Briggs is perhaps a little better known by the old time hardcore boxing fans who remember him back when he briefly held the WBO title way back in 2006, and before that when Briggs won a controversial decision over George Foreman in 1997.
Wladimir just needs someone that will take the fight to him so that he can make it interesting for the fans. Wladimir’s last opponent Kubrat Pulev was a big disappointment because it was too easy for Wladimir to knock him out in five rounds. Jennings or Briggs should be able to make a fight of it for a while before Wladimir likely puts them away.
“The fight will be at the Barclays Center and we are very, very pleased,” Bernd Boente, Klitschko’s manager, said via Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. “The contract is not signed yet but we have a handshake deal and we are getting everything finalized. It’s a really good deal for both sides. We are all looking forward to a big event.”
If Wladimir can get by Jennings or Briggs on April 25th, then his next fight will be against his WBO mandatory challenger Tyson Fury from the UK.
That should make for a more interesting fight on paper, because the 6’9” Fury has the height and reach to force Wladimir to brawl in order to win. Wladimir wasn’t able to use his jab much against the 6’4 1/2” Pulev in his last fight due to him having the reach to nail Wladimir with his own jabs. This forced Wladimir to throw power shots in order to win the fight. Wladimir will likely need to do the same thing in order to beat Fury.
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