By Scott Gilfoid: Bryant Jennings (19-1, 10 KOs) came up short last Saturday night in losing by a 12 round unanimous decision to IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-3, 53 KOs) at Madison Square Garden. The loss didn’t alter Jennings’ self-belief because he still sees him as the best heavyweight in the planet despite him clearly losing the fight by the scores 118-109, 116-111 and 116-111.
The scores would have been wider if the referee Michael Griffin hadn’t taken a point away from Klitschko in the 10th for clinching too much.
This fight does not penetrate my confidence or anything negative towards my career,” Jennings said at the post-fight press conference. “Some people may have expected me to be highly upset or down. I ain’t down. I ain’t upset. This is the sport. And for those that don’t understand, when you get in those four squares, it is what it is. Tonight I fought all 12 rounds,” Jennings said.
Jennings obviously hadn’t seen how he performed in the fight at the time that he met with the press at the post-fight press conference. You can’t blame Jennings for feeling he did better than he actually did because he hadn’t see the fight over to know that he actually did very little on offense. He didn’t let his hands go, and mainly focused on his defense. If he had taken some chances by throwing punches, he would have had a chance of winning the fight or at least making it closer than it turned out to be.
“I expected to do well, which I did. But not everybody expected me to do well,” Jennings said. “So I’m hoping I gained some respect, and I know I gained some fans. I’m not bitter. I’m not upset. I’m not mad, but I really think that I came out with the fight. And you already know what I’m calling for – let’s do this thing again. Let’s do number two.”
This is where Jennings is really dreaming because there is no chance of him getting a second fight against Wladimir. He was fortunate to get picked out by Wladimir in an optional defense, as Jennings didn’t have to fight for the mandatory spot against one of the better contenders in the division because he might have lost. But as far as Jennings getting a rematch, it’s not likely to happen anytime soon. If Jennings wants another fight against Wladimir, he’s probably going to need to slowly work his way into position for a title shot by beating some quality guys and then becoming the No.1 mandatory. My guess is that might take two to three years, possibly more for Jennings to do that. It’s not going to be quick that’s for sure.
“I seen him huffing and puffing, I seen him doing all that,” Jennings said. “I brought it to him every single round, and whatever that Steel Hammer was, it didn’t penetrate this unexperienced, too small, bad foot work. I done heard it all. Man, please. I’m happy. I hope everybody in here is happy. If you’re Klitschko fans, be happy. If you’re my fans, be happy. Because I’m not mad. I still consider myself the best heavyweight in the world. I just did my thing.”
It almost sounds like Jennings has a chip on his shoulder about losing the fight. No one is saying that he’s mad. The fans are pretty much saying it was a boring fight because neither guy looked good. Wladimir threw very few power shots, and Jennings did little other than throw body shots. The heat shots he threw missed badly most of the time, and he seemed to give up after a while in trying to land anything to Wladimir’s head.
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