Wladimir Klitschko turns 39 today, getting ready for Jennings fight

By Boxing News - 03/25/2015 - Comments

Wladimir Klitschko vs Bryant JenningsBy Scott Gilfoid: IBF/WBO/IBO/WBA heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (63-3, 53 KOs) turns 39-years-old today as he gets ready for his fight next month on April 25th against the talented #3 WBO, #5 IBF Bryant Jennings (19-0, 10 KOs) at Madison Square Garden in New York. Wladimir, who started his career 19 years ago in 1996, is looking to make his 18th successful title defense.

He’s zooming in on the record of 25 successful title defenses set by Joe Louis. It’s not likely that Wladimir will be able to break that record, though, because he’ll have to get past WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in a unification bout, and I don’t think Wladimir is going to win that fight.

It is possible that Wladimir may be able to take the No.2 spot for successful title defenses if he can win his next three fights. Larry Holmes is currently No.2 for the most successful title defenses with 20 defenses. That’s a big deal given that there were a lot of talented fighters around when Holmes was defending his heavyweight straps.

I hate to say it, but Wladimir has a lot of successful title defenses against what I consider fluff opponents like Jean Marc Mormeck, Alex Leapai, Francesco Pianeta, Mariusz Wach, Ruslan Chagaev, and Hasim Rahman. Wladimir has faced a handful of good fighters like David Haye, Alexander Povetkin, Kubrat Pulev, Eddie Chambers and Samuel Peter.

Jennings, 30, has a real chance of beating Wladimir on April 25th if he can use his long reach and combinations to wear down the Ukrainian fighter. Jennings, 6’3”, may be three inches shorter than the 6’6” Wladimir, but he has a three inch reach advantage over him.

What this means is that Jennings will be able to reach Wladimir no matter where he is. If Wladimir tries to out-jab Jennings from the outside like he’s done against his opposition with shorter reach than his own, Wladimir is going to find that he’ll be getting hit a lot.

Jennings will be able to nail him with shots from the outside in the same way that Wladimir’s taller opponents were able to do, but Jennings will likely do a far better job than they did in nailing Wladimir.

The one area that Jennings is lacking is in the power department. He’s not a big puncher, and he probably never will be. But with Wladimir’s fragile chin, it might not matter if Jennings doesn’t have Deontay Wilder type punching power.

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If Jennings can just land his shots with regularity, he’s going to have a chance of knocking Wladimir out in the same way Corrie Sanders, Lamon Brewster and Ross Puritty did in the past.



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