Wladimir Klitschko improved to 64-3 (53 KO’s) with a clear 12-round decision over Bryant Jennings (19-1, 10 KO’s) at Madison Square Garden in New York Saturday night. Official scores were 118-109, 116-111 and 116-111.
A bunch of heavyweight title belts were on the line.
Though the scoring was clearly in Klitschko’s favor, Jennings mounted a spirited attack throughout and had his moments against the much-bigger champion. The Klitschko era has been the biggest snoozer in the history of the heavyweight division, including both Wlad and his brother Vitali. This fight was another in a long line of wins for the oversized brothers.
But Jennings showed that this champion can be beaten. Yes, he lost by five points on the closest cards, but Jennings rocked the Ukrainian a couple of times and used movement to frustrate the heavy-handed Klitschko.
The opponents that the Klitschko brothers have beaten have been weak, at best. The likes of Lamon Brewster and Chris Byrd have been able to force a stoppage or flatten one or the other.
America’s best athletes in this weight class play football and basketball. Deontay Wilder, for one, is a great athlete. Will he challenge and beat Wlad? We’ll see.
But Jennings showed how limited this champion is. Lennox Lewis pulverizes this guy. (In shape, focused Lennox Lewis, of course. Not the guy that got knocked out by Hasim Rahman or struggled against Vitali). Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield, Larry Holmes…they mop the floor with Wladimir Klitschko.
Bryant Jennings gave him a tough fight. Wlad clearly won, but he’s hardly invincible. The names on Klitschko’s resume recently are laughable. I’ll take my chances with Wilder. I’d like to see that fight.
