By Allan Fox: Boxing fans were quickly scooping up tickets on Wednesday for the April 25th fight between IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (63-3, 53 KOs) and Bryant Jennings (19-0, 10 KOs) for their fight at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Surprisingly, tickets are going fast for the Klitschko vs. Jennings fight. According to Dan Rafael, 5,000 tickets were sold today in the first hour after the tickets went on sale.
That suggests that a lot of boxing fans in the East Coast are interested in seeing the 30-year-old Jennings battle the 6’6” Klitschko. The fight is seen as a mismatch by many fans and sports writers, but that’s not keeping people from the East Coast from purchasing tickets in high numbers.
At this pace it won’t be long before sell out the 20,789 seat arena for the fight. That would be a major accomplishment because Jennings isn’t considered a big name in the United States. Deontay Wilder, the new WBC heavyweight champion, only sold 4,000+ tickets for his fight against former WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne last month on January 17th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
If Jennings can pull in huge ticket sales in fighting in the East Coast then he could be a potential star in the U.S if he can beat Wladimir. It’s going to be difficult for Jennings to beat Wladimir, because he’s three inches shorter than him at 6’3”, and he’s way behind him in the power department. The size is an important factor for Wladimir, but it’s his power that may give Jennings the most problems.
“In 1st hour of being on sale, I am told more than 5,000 tix have been sold for Klitschko-Jennings on April 25 at @TheGarden. #boxing,” Rafael said on his twitter.
“I do have great respect for Bryant Jennings and his achievements. He has good movement in the ring and good technique. I know this will be a tough challenge,” Klitschko said.
Wladimir will need to use his jab more in this fight than he did in his last bout against Kubrat Pulev last November. Wladimir rarely used his jab in that fight, and instead focused on throwing his left hooks more. He was able to do this because Pulev kept coming forward looking to put pressure on Wladimir. Jennings is a much different fighter than Wladimir, as he’s someone that will be looking to box more and throw combinations at times.
Jennings has recent wins over Mike Perez and Artur Szpilka. Those are Jennings biggest wins of his career, and he didn’t really look all that great in the Perez fight. Jennings was uncomfortable with his power until he faded late in the fight.
Wladimir is going to be a problem for Jennings in the early part of the fight with his size and power.
Jennings could come on in the second part of the fight like he did with Perez if Wladimir lets him hang around for that long. You can expect Wladimir to start doing a lot of holding at some point if he gets hit too much. Whether he can get away with doing a lot of clinching in the United States is unknown. In Germany, Wladimir is able to clinch constantly without losing points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOxT2vHW_B8
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