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With about one month to go before his April 25th world heavyweight title shot against Wladimir Klitschko, Bryant Jennings, 19-0, 10 KOs, is cloistered away at training camp getting ready for the biggest fight of his life. For Jennings, training is second nature, and is without question one of the hardest workers in the game. However as he recently told me, training too hard may have hurt him in his last start, the fight that earned him a shot at the WBC belt. Of course Jennings went in a different direction and finds himself on the brink of fighting the man considered to be the true heavyweight champ and the holder of the IBF, WBA, WBO & IBO titles. If Jennings can pull off the upset on April 25th, he’ll join Joe Frazier and Tim Witherspoon (and some say Sonny Liston) as the most celebrated big men in Philly’s storied boxing history. It’s a tall order, but Jennings sounded confident, ready and raring to go when I spoke to him recently by telephone. You are on the brink of fighting for the heavyweight championship and changing your life forever. What does that feel like? JENNINGS: “That’s actually what I’ve been doing these last few months, just mentally preparing myself for this transition. With or without the Klitschko fight, I’ve been mentally preparing myself for these transitions that are about to come. I work hard and work toward them, and I know I’m going to achieve them. So therefore I got to prepare. Because most people, when they get to a point, they don’t know what to do. They don’t know what to do with the money. They don’t know what to do with the fame. They abuse it. They get disrespectful. They get very arrogant. They get ignorant. So I’m just trying to prepare myself and just trying to ease into this transition.” You had a brief amateur career and 19 pro fights in four years. You are about to fight for the world heavyweight title. How did you get here so quickly? JENNINGS: “Hard work. Persistence. My persistence brought me consistency, and I always showed will. I was always willing to do the unthinkable, the impossible. You know, fight whoever. Stayed very strategic. It’s even a greater thing on my end because I’ve taken a very big grip on my own career, and I’ve been able to steer it the way I wanted it to go. That’s important right there.” Was it a difficult choice to go after Klitschko instead of waiting for the mandatory WBC shot that you earned in your last fight? JENNINGS: “No, not really. Once the opportunity presented itself, then I immediately went that way. At the time, the Wilder and Stiverne fight wasn’t even in the talks really. You know how long they dragged that fight out. By the time theirs was scheduled, mine was scheduled (too). So that just goes to show how much time they took to actually make that fight. So I was good. I felt as though I’ve always came up on the harder side of the road anyway. So I’d rather take the hard way. Once I take the hard way, all the other stuff will be easier to me.” Do you think Klitschko is a tougher match than Wilder? JENNINGS: “No doubt! That’s without a question. I’m fighting Wladimir Klitschko! That’s without a question.” Why is fighting Klitschko the more attractive option? JENNINGS: “If I wanted to be the best, then I knew I had to fight the best. Most people don’t even reflect on history. Take a look at some of the greatest heavyweights of all time and realize that these guys weren’t that big. So here it is, you have a guy that’s at traditional weight as a heavyweight (Jennings). Has great movement. Has great athletic ability. I have it all. I have the defense. They’re not even looking at the attributes that I bring to this fight. Klitschko has fought people who really don’t move well, or are really heavy on their feet. Who really have weak defense. I just look at the matchup as I really have to prove this to people. And once I prove it to them, they are really going to be in for a real treat. Because once I prove it to them, then they get to feel how greatness really is. Most people deny greatness. I never deny greatness. I know I’m going off of the question a little bit. I never deny greatness. I think it’s a great matchup. You got the small guy against the bigger guy. My athleticism against his athleticism. It’s just the best of the best. I for sure will definitely bring my A-Game, and I’m looking to come out with the win.” Are you happy that you are fighting Klitschko in the USA? JENNINGS: “Yes. It’s definitely better in the USA. Now I can actually celebrate immediately after the win, instead of actually holding my celebration. (If I beat him in Germany) I may be retaliated against when I’m in a whole ‘nother country (with them) screaming, “America this and America that’. Even though I love Germany. I actually have a close friend. She’s German. I’ve been learning German. I actually love the country. I love all countries. I see culture, not color. I actually love all culture. But it’s just great to be home and being able to celebrate.” Does having the fight at Madison Square Garden hold any special significance for you? JENNINGS: “It definitely holds some type of significance because there was a lot of history that was made at Madison Square Garden. And here it is, I’m extending history. And what better place to fight than (such a) historical place. Not only in boxing, but in all sports. Madison Square Garden is just the place to be.” What is the key to winning this fight? JENNINGS: “My key is literally to be aware. To stick to the game plan. To stick to the strategy, whatever the strategy may be. I won’t give it up. It’s also to be active. It’s also to be smart. Be aware, and fight smart.” Klitschko hasn’t lost in 10 years. He’s made 17 title defenses. Why will you be different from all the others he’s faced during that stretch? JENNINGS: “I compare myself to guys that he fought recently and won against. Guys like David Haye, against guys like (Eddie) Chambers. There were slight changes that could have made huge differences in each one of those fights that I plan to capitalize on. When I say plan, that means that’s my plan. I know that everybody has a plan until they get hit. I’m aware of that. I’m very sure of that. But my plan is to capitalize on things where (other) people left holes. People left question marks in his recent fights. So my plan is to capitalize on that.” How do you feel about being a big underdog in the fight? JENNINGS: “It’s always a good thing to come in as the underdog because it makes you fight harder.” Your last fight (W12 Mike Perez) was extremely close. So close that it almost went the other way. What did you learn from that fight? JENNINGS: “I actually learned something (about) preparation for a fight like that. And I’ll actually apply that to every preparation that I’ll be going forth with forever. I think my preparation for that fight was kind of dragged out. I had been out of state training for a long time. So I actually learned something in preparation for Mike Perez that would have definitely changed how I fought in that fight. I believe I over trained a bit.” So what did you learn from that? JENNINGS: “We don’t necessarily need to kill ourselves in preparation. We have to find smarter ways, more strategic ways to actually go about it. Because my strength is my strength, my body is my body. I am who I am. I’m a grown man; I’m developed already. So there’s only so much you can actually change. There’s only so much you can push a fighter to do. Now you just gotta know when to hold, when to fold. You actually got to know your limit, and you actually have to train smart and effectively. All of your energy has to, should be, exerted at the fight, not beforehand.” How did being over trained affect you in the fight? JENNINGS: “I believe I did not let me hands go. There was something there that really didn’t let me let my hands go as much as I should have. And then you can greatly credit Mike Perez. Slick movement; he’s southpaw. You know, most guys are scared of southpaws anyway. It was the southpaw stance plus the slick movement, plus the experience. So there were a lot of things you could put in there (reasons, excuses). Mike Perez is a great fighter. If he was in better shape, he probably would have won. If he had come on his A-Game, because I believe I didn’t come with mine. I came with my A-Game in mind. I always have the will to execute the plan. But when your body’s just not there, it’s not there. So I guess that’s the same way he felt. But he neglected his training and it showed. I still pushed forward and I still worked hard and still showed that I wanted to win. And that’s how I won. I won with my heart. I didn’t win with skills. I won with my heart because I kept fighting, I kept pushing.” Does it feel like this fight with Klitschko will be your moment, your destiny? JENNINGS: “Everything has happened so fast. I literally just live my life as if this is my life and it’s normal to me. It may be extravagant; it may be excellent – I mean it’s excellent to me as well but – it may be extravagant to everybody else, but I live it as though it’s normal and I’ve always had good discipline in life. So I treat the life I’m living now with the same discipline. It’s actually greater discipline because it’s on a greater scale.” Philadelphia has produced Joe Frazier and Tim Witherspoon. Is Bryant Jennings Philly’s next heavyweight champ? JENNINGS: “Yeah. Yeah. It will actually have some significance. Not to say those guys didn’t do it, but it’s 2015. Times have changed. Marketing has changed. Business has changed. The world has changed a whole lot. I just think that I can capitalize a lot better, and actually exceed from a marketing standpoint. Those guys, they made history that can’t be touched. I’m not trying to out-do them or none of that. I’m just saying that it’s a better time now and I’m actually going to show you how to do it in 2015.” Can you feel the support from your city? JENNINGS: “Yes, we all on this train together.” |
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