Not much was expected from Bryant Jennings in Saturday’s heavyweight title fight with Wladimir Klitschko at Madison Square Garden.
Klitschko’s advantages in height (three inches, at least) and weight (more than 20lb) were foreboding enough, but nothing compared to the gulf in experience. The 39-year-old from Ukraine had more successful title defenses than Jennings had pro fights. The oddsmakers had made the upstart from North Philadelphia as a 10-1 underdog in Klitschko’s first fight on US soil since 2008.
But Jennings had a smart game plan and the nerve to execute it, using constant lateral movement to make Klitschko chase and a dedicated body attack to score in spots. Together the tactics served to disrupt the familiar rhythm at the foundation of Klitschko’s nine-year championship reign, second only to Joe Louis for longest in heavyweight history.
Klitschko, for the first time in what seems like an eternity, was in with an opponent who fought hard for 12 rounds and never stopped trying to figure out a way to win.
Only it wasn’t enough. Not even close, really, as Klitschko earned a unanimous decision to retain his heavyweight titles. Two ringside judges turned in scores of 116-111 while a third scored it 118-109. (The Guardian had it 116-111.)
“He was really mobile and it was really tough to hit him,” Klitschko (64-3, 53 KOs) said afterward. “Jennings was challenging. He was trying in his own way and I need to give respect for that. But there were no questions at the end of a 12-round fight who was the winner.
“I could have done better.”
Jennings (19-1, 10 KOs), a late-bloomer who this time last year was working a full-time day job as a building mechanic at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, showed incredibly well. He might not deserve the immediate rematch he called for in the post-fight press conference – it’s fair to say he was being graded on a curve somewhat – but there’s no doubt his stock is elevated even in defeat.
But certainly he benefited from an opponent who appeared slightly past his stratospheric peak. Klitschko, 39, at times even looked ordinary.
From the opening bell Jennings tried to move and use angles to make Klitschko work for every point. The champion stalked him around the ring, measured and patient as ever, typically doing enough with the right jab to win the early rounds.
But even as he opened an early edge on the scorecards, it was clear by the fifth that Klitschko should have been concerned. Jennings was finding a way inside with his head movement and jab, staying committed to the body attack, growing stronger and more emboldened as the fight progressed.
The crossroads came early in the 10th round when referee Mike Griffin finally deducted a point from Klitschko for holding after no less than two warnings. At that point – accounting for the deduction – Klitschko led 86-84, 86-84 and 88-82 on the official cards. Had Jennings pushed the pace and pulled Klitschko further into deep waters, it might have been enough to secure the upset.
Instead, it was Jennings who seemed to tire – briefly abandoning the head and lateral movement that had served him so well – while Klitschko showed the finishing kick of a champion in sweeping the final three rounds on all three official scorecards amid chants of Klitschko! Klitschko! from the near-capacity crowd of 17,506.
“He would have beat a lot of top heavyweights tonight,” Klitschko said of Jennings. “I welcome him to the top of the heavyweight division.”
Afterward, talk turned to a showdown with Tyson Fury, almost certainly to take place in Germany or Great Britain. Yet how much longer will he press on?
“I’ve learned to make the decision based on fight to fight,” he said. “As long as I am healthy and have great motivation, I will continue. I don’t feel my age in this case. Age is just a number, it depends on your lifestyle.
“The lifestyle can give you good health and motivation. I enjoy performing and I will continue as long as I can.”
Klitschko is far from finished. Not by a longshot, as Saturday’s convincing win over one of America’s brightest heavyweight hopes showed. Yet even in victory we saw in Klitschko a hint of decline – and therein a glimpse of the beginning of the end.
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion