Jennings Has Sparred With Idea of Sparring a Klitschko

Published

12 years ago

June 13, 2013

The date was May 7, 2002, after the Philadelphia 76ers had been bounced from the NBA playoffs a year after they had advanced to the Finals, and the team’s superstar guard, Allen Iverson, was going off on the perceived difference – at least as it pertained to him – between actual competition and the work that presumably needed to be put in to get ready for games that counted.

Known for his notoriously lackadaisical practice habits, when he practiced at all, Iverson treated a beat writer’s question about the matter as something beneath a player of his magnitude. His infamous rant at a press conference that day has become a YouTube staple.

“We’re talkin’ about practice,” Iverson responded in a mocking tone of voice. “I mean listen, we’re sitting here talkin’ about practice. Not a game. We’re talkin’ about practice , man.”

Eleven years and one month have passed, and another reasonably notable Philadelphia athlete was explaining – albeit to a much smaller media audience – his disdain for a certain element of practice. It’s not that Bryant Jennings (16-0, 8 KOs), the IBF’s third-ranked heavyweight who takes on Russia’s Andrey Fedosov (24-2, 19 KOs) Friday night in a scheduled 10-rounder to be televised by the NBC Sports Network from Bethlehem, Pa. – has anything against sparring, per se. His trainer, Fred Jenkins, says the sculpted 6-2, 225-pounder has “a work ethic that, I think, supersedes every other heavyweight.”

It’s just that, well, Jennings doesn’t think he needs to cross an ocean to spar somebody – even if that somebody happens to be a heavyweight champion of the world with the power to grant him a high-profile, high-paying shot at a version or versions of the title.

Jennings is steadfast in his belief that his refusal to serve as a practice partner to either Klitschko (Wladimir holds the IBF, WBO and The Ring magazine belts, while older brother Vitali is the WBC champ) is holding him back from the dream matchup he and his support team so obviously covet.

“I think you have to go to their camp (as a sparring partner) so they can test you, see what you’re all about, so they can figure out what they’re getting into … whether or not they can handle you,” Jennings, speaking to reporters at the ABC Recreation Center in North Philly, said of the Klitschkos’ propensity for selecting onetime sparring partners as challengers for their belts. “That seems to be the only way. A lot of their opponents have been their sparring partners, so that’s one strategy (for moving to the front of the line).

“But I don’t want them to figure me out just yet. I want them to find out what I’m all about when we get in the ring.”

Jenkins confirmed Jennings’ take on the situation, although he was a bit sketchy on details. He does recall that the trip would have taken them to Germany, which is the preferred base of operations for each of the Ukrainian giants.

“It’s something that would have paid very well and, I won’t kid you, we could have used the money,” Jenkins said. “But Bryant and I talked it over and we agreed that we didn’t want to go over there to be anybody’s sparring partner. We want to fight those guys for real, with a world championship on the line.”

So, which Klitschko did the inviting?

“I don’t know which one,” Jenkins said. “They both look alike to me. They fight alike, too.”

For sparring partners and non-sparring partners alike, the window of opportunity to swap punches with a Klitschko would appear to be closing. Vitali (45-2, 41 KOs) is 41 and has a history of injuries that have kept him idle for long stretches, and Wladimir (60-3, 51 KOs) is 37 and already has his next opponent lined up. He’s scheduled to square off with Russia’s Alexander Povetkin (26-0, 18 KOs) on Oct. 5 in Moscow.

This might not be a golden age of heavyweights, but Team Jennings correctly points out that there is a glut of wannabes, both from Europe and America, who would leap at the chance to take a beating from a Klitschko for a sizable chunk of cash. U.S. heavyweights who conceivably could be on the Klitschkos’ radar are another Philadelphian, Malik Scott (35-0-1, 12 KOs), as well as Tony Thompson (37-3, 25 KOs), Johnathon Banks (29-1-1, 19 KOs), Chris Arreola (35-3, 30 KOs), Deontay Wilder (28-0, 28 KOs), Amir Monsour (18-0, 14 KOs), Joe Hanks (21-0, 14 KOs), Kevin Johnson (29-3-1, 14 KOs), Seth Mitchell (25-1-1, 19 KOs) and Reading’s Travis Kauffman (24-1, 18 KOs).

It should be noted that the 41-year-oldThompson is 0-2 against Wladimir and that Arreola and Johnson each has lost to Vitali. It seems reasonable to assume that some of the other American candidates might have decided that their best course of action will be to wait for the Klitschkos to retire, then try to wangle a shot at a vacant title against someone far less dangerous.

Jennings, though, is a young man in a hurry. So what if he didn’t even take up boxing until the relatively advanced age of 24? So what if he has fewer pro fights than any of the other Americans who would love to become the first heavyweight champion from this country since Shannon Briggs briefly held the WBO crown in 2006? Time waits for no man, and Jennings, at 28, is an impatient sort.

“It’s been done before,” he said of relative neophytes (see Pete Rademacher and Leon Spinks) who bid for what used to be known as boxing’s grandest prize. “I could see waiting if it hadn’t been done before, but I’m not trying to do something that’s all that unusual.

“I’m on my path. I got the heart, I got the will, I got the skill. I couldn’t possibly do worse than some of the guys who have been in there (with the Klitschkos). And I would go in there to win , not just to lay down and draw a paycheck. Look at some of the other guys that fought them. When it was over, it was like you didn’t hear anything about them again. They took their check and pretty much disappeared.”

Jennings has always been supremely confident in his own abilities. A three-sport athlete at Benjamin Franklin High School, he is used to being the top guy at whatever sport he tried. But being king of the neighborhood is not the same as being king of the world.

“Jennings came in (to the gym) thinking he was big, even in the beginning,” said Jenkins, who in his 31-year training career has worked with, among others, 1996 Olympic gold medalist and former WBA junior middleweight champion David Reid, ’96 Olympian Zahir Raheem and three-time world title challenger “Rockin’” Rodney Moore. “He’s always thinking he’s better than anybody else. He’s used to winning, to being a standout at whatever he tried. Boxing is just his latest challenge. He wants to accomplish great things, and I think he can.

“Every 20 years or so a fighter comes along that’s extraordinary. This is one of those fighters. If you want to be great, you have to dare to be great. Instead of waiting for the Klitschkos to retire, he’d rather step in the ring and earn his greatness now.

“This kid moves like a lightweight and he hits twice as hard as most heavyweights. He’d be competitive right now with anybody in the division, no matter what their record is or how experienced they are. I want him to get his shot now because he’s eager and he’s hungry. He’s willing to take more gambles than maybe a more seasoned guy would.”

Jennings’ Philadelphia-based promoter, J Russell Peltz, appreciates eagerness in a fighter. But he said his personal preference would be for the man known as “By-By” to take things just a bit slower in his scramble toward the top.

“I honestly don’t know how good Jennings is,” Peltz said. “I know he’s got the style, with all that in-and-out speed, to beat the Klitschkos. Whether he can pull it off is the question. He was on the floor in his last fight against a B-level fighter (Bowie Tupou, whom Jennings knocked out in five rounds on Dec. 8). But that can happen to any fighter in any fight. (Note: Referee Blair Talmadge ruled Tupou’s apparent knockdown of Jennings a slip.)

“It’s tough to hold fighters back today because of the money. Even if he loses to a Klitschko, well, everybody else has, too, or probably would. But Jennings has a chance. The Klitschkos are old-style heavyweights, plodding along. Jennings is an athletic kid with a lot of confidence in himself. And he knows how to win.

“When he beat Maurice Byarm (on a unanimous, 10-round decision on Jan. 21, 2012), Byarm was the better fighter that night. But Jennings is a winner. He finds a way, maybe because he is so athletic. You don’t see many heavyweights with his speed and reflexes.”

There is the matter of possible ring rust to consider. Although he was very busy in 2012, fighting five times, Friday’s clash with Fedosov will be his first actual bout in six months. Jennings said it’s no big deal because “that’s just the fight game. Boxing has a lot of politics. But I stay in the gym and keep myself sharp. Shouldn’t be any problem.”

Should Jennings get past Fedosov, he could be in line for a bout with the IBF’s top-rated contender, Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev (17-0, 9 KOs). A victory could catapault him into the position of mandatory contender, at least for the IBF version of the title. Not that Jennings is expecting much movement on that front. He said he and his support crew were offered a bout with Pulev for what they considered to be an “insulting” amount of money, said to be $25,000.

“He’s sitting around, clogging up that No. 1 spot and he doesn’t seem very anxious to fight anybody,” Jennings said. “It gets real frustrating in this boxing business. Look, we all know what Pulev is doing. He’s not the big, bad wolf he makes himself out to be. He’s not getting turned down for fights because everybody’s scared of him. He made us a bum offer. He makes a lot of guys bum offers, and wasn’t nobody going to accept them.”

Nor is Jennings impressed by Thompson, the soft-bodied veteran who made himself a factor again when he took out unbeaten British contender David Price on a second-round stoppage on Feb. 23 in Liverpool, England.

“Tony Thompson is living proof of just how shallow the heavyweight division is, that he can come off his toilet seat and just knock a guy out,” Jennings sneered. “Tony Thompson didn’t even wipe his ass. He got back in the game and beat the crap out of David Price. Doesn’t say a whole lot about David Price now, does it?”

So Bryant Jennings plays the waiting game, whether he wants to or not, and while he waits he keeps calling out the Klitschkos because that’s all he can do for now. Unless, of course, he wants to become one of their sparring partners.

“It’s hard, man,” he said of his efforts to draw the attention of one or both of the Klitschkos. “Boxing is not a sport you’re supposed to be in very long. Who has time to sit around?”

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Bernard Fernandez

Avila Perspective, Chap. 324: Ryan Garcia Leads Three Days in May Battles

Published

1 day ago

May 1, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 324: Ryan Garcia Leads Three Days in May Battles

They’re fighting on the streets of New York again.

Times Square.

Ryan “King Ry” Garcia leads six of the best crack shots in boxing under 30 in New York City on Friday, May 2. It begins a three-day event that moves to Saudi Arabia on Saturday then Las Vegas on Sunday. Three targets.

A number of the best promoters in the sport of boxing are combining forces for “Ring Magazine’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.”

Time Square is target one.

Fresh off a one-year suspension, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) brings his brand of speed and power against Rollie Romero (16-2, 13 KOs), who is no shrinking petunia when it comes to power. They meet in the main event.

Ever since Garcia took off the amateur head gear, he’s shown almost inhuman explosive power and speed. Though his destruction of Devin Haney last year was overturned by the New York Athletic Commission, what viewers saw cannot be erased.

“His dad likes to talk a lot,” said Garcia of Haney. “that’s what got his son beat the first time.”

Now he faces Romero, whose years ago sparring superiority caused a furor when it happened. But sparring and fighting are distinctly different. Now there will be millions watching and future earnings at stake.

“This fight was destined to happen. I called it. I knew it was gonna be at 147 pounds and be one of the biggest fights in boxing history,” said Romero, a two-division champion.

Then, you have Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) who got his loss in the ring removed by the commission but now faces former two-time champion Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in a welterweight showdown. It’s a compelling match.

“Styles make fights. He does a lot of good things and a lot of bad things in there. It’s my job to go in there and handicap him of the good things he does and exploit the bad things,” said Haney of Ramirez.

Ramirez recently lost his last match and has a history of problems making weight. This fight will not be at 140 pounds, but five pounds heavier.

“I owe it to myself to show up and move up into a bigger weight class. I think that’s going to do wonders for me,” Ramirez said. ““I’m preparing for the best Devin Haney. That’s the guy I want to beat. I want that challenge.”

A super lightweight battle between New York’s Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) and California’s Arnold Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) might be a Rubik’s Cube battle or a blast of nitro. Both are highly skilled and master craftsmen in a prize ring.

“We’re going to go out there and do what I have to do. I’m going to have fun and beat the brick out of this boy,” said Lopez, one of the local fighters who now lives and trains on the West Coast.

Barboza, a Los Angeles native, has knocked off several top contenders in remaining undefeated.

“This is the toughest opponent of my career,” said Barboza, who bested England’s Jack Catterall and fellow Californian Jose Carlos Ramirez. “I’m gonna punch him in the mouth and see what happens.”

Six of the best American fighters under 30 are slugging it out on Times Square. It probably hasn’t been done since Boss Tweed.

Day Two: Riyadh

Super middleweight champions Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) and William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) meet on Saturday, May 3, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s an extension of Ring Magazine’s event on Friday and presented by Riyadh Season. DAZN will stream the event on pay-per-view.

Another world title match pits Badou Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) versus Norair Mikaeljan (27-2 12 KOs) for the WBC cruiser world title.

Also, a return match between Mexico’s Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) and France’s Bruno Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) in a super middleweight fight.

Day Three: Las Vegas

Immensely talented Naoya “Monster” Inoue of Japan returns to Las Vegas to showcase his fighting skills to an American audience.

It’s been nearly four years since Inoue appeared in Las Vegas and demonstrated why many experts and fans call him the best fighter pound for pound on the planet. The best.

“I’m excited about everything,” said Inoue about the opportunity to fight in front of an American audience once again.

Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) defends the undisputed super bantamweight championship against a little-known banger from San Antonio, Texas named Ramon “Dinamita” Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs). ESPN will televise the Top Rank and Teiken Promotions fight card.

Don’t dismiss Cardenas casually. He is co-promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz who knows a thing or two about signing little known sluggers such as Manny Pacquiao, Marcos Maidana and female undisputed champ Gabriela Fundora.

Cardenas trains with brothers Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio, California and rumor has it has been cracking on the Uzbeks who are pretty rough and tumble.

Of course, the Monster is another matter.

Inoue has fought many of the best smaller weight fighters such as Luis Nery, Stephen Fulton and the great Nonito Donaire and swept them aside with his combination of speed, power and skill.

“I’m always going for the knockout,” Inoue said.

Cardenas always goes for the knockout too.

Two bangers in Las Vegas. That’s what prizefighting is all about.

“I hope to enjoy the whole atmosphere and the fight,” said Inoue. Also, it’s my first time fighting in the T-Mobile Arena.”

Co-Feature

WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) of Mexico defends against Edward Vazquez (17-2, 4 KOs) of Texas. This will be Espinoza’s third defense of the world title.

Espinoza could be Inoue’s next opponent if the Japanese legend decides to move up another weight division.

Also on the fight card will be Emiliano Vargas, Ra’eese Aleem and others.

Fights to Watch (all times Pacific Time)

Fri. DAZN ppv 2 p.m. Ryan Garcia (24-1) vs Rolando Romero (16-2); Devin Haney (31-1) vs Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2); Teofimo Lopez (21-1) vs Arnold Barboza (32-0).

Sat. DAZN ppv 2:45 p.m. Saul Alvarez (62-2-2) vs William Scull (23-0); Badou Jack (28-3-3) vs Norair Mikeljan (27-2); Jaime Munguia (44-2) vs Bruno Surace (26-0-2).

Sun. ESPN 7 p.m. Naoya Inoue (29-0) vs Ramon Cardenas (26-1); Rafael Espinoza (26-0) vs Edward Vazquez (17-2); Ra’eese Aleem (21-1) vs Rudy Garcia (13-1-1).

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Jorge Garcia is the TSS Fighter of the Month for April

Published

4 days ago

April 28, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Jorge-Garcia-is-the-TSS-Fighter-of-the-Month-for-April

Jorge Garcia has a lot in common with Mexican countrymen Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza. In common with those two, both reigning world title-holders, Garcia is big for his weight class and bubbled out of obscurity with a triumph forged as a heavy underdog in a match contested on American soil.

Garcia had his “coming of age party” on April 19 in the first boxing event at the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California (roughly 35 miles north of San Diego), a 7,500-seat facility whose primary tenant is an indoor soccer team. It was a Golden Boy Promotions event and in the opposite corner was a Golden Boy fighter, Charles Conwell.

A former U.S. Olympian, Conwell was undefeated (21-0, 16 KOs) and had won three straight inside the distance since hooking up with Golden Boy whose PR department ballyhooed him as the most avoided fighter in the super welterweight division. At prominent betting sites, Conwell was as high as a 12/1 favorite.

The lanky Garcia was 32-4 (26 KOs) heading in, but it was easy to underestimate him as he had fought extensively in Tijuana where the boxing commission is notoriously docile and in his home state of Sinaloa. This would be only his second fight in the U.S. However, it was noteworthy in hindsight that three of his four losses were by split decision.

Garcia vs. Conwell was a robust affair. He and Conwell were credited with throwing 1451 punches combined. In terms of punches landed, there was little to choose between them but the CompuBox operator saw Garcia landing more power punches in eight of the 12 rounds. At the end, the verdict was split but there was no controversy.

An interested observer was Sebastian Fundora who was there to see his sister Gabriela defend her world flyweight titles. Sebastian owns two pieces of the 154-pound world title where the #1 contender per the WBO is Xander Zayas who keeps winning, but not with the verve of his earlier triumphs.

With his upset of Charles Conwell, Jorge Garcia has been bumped into the WBO’s #2 slot. Regardless of who he fights next, Garcia will earn the biggest payday of his career.

Honorable mention: Aaron McKenna

McKenna was favored to beat veteran campaigner Liam Smith in the co-feature to the Eubank-Benn battle this past Saturday in London, but he was stepping up in class against a former world title-holder who had competed against some of the top dogs in the middleweight division and who had famously stopped Chris Eubank Jr in the first of their two encounters. Moreover, the venue, Tottenham Hotspur, the third-largest soccer stadium in England, favored the 36-year-old Liverpudlian who was accustomed to a big fight atmosphere having fought Canelo Alvarez before 50,000-plus at Arlington Stadium in Texas.

McKenna, from the small town of Monaghan, Ireland, wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion. With his dad Feargal in his corner and his fighting brother Stephen McKenna cheering him on from ringside, Aaron won a wide decision in his first 12-round fight, punctuating his victory by knocking Smith to his knees with a body punch in the 12^th round. In fact, if he hadn’t had a point deducted for using his elbow, the Irishman would have pitched a shutout on one of the scorecards.

“There might not be a more impressive example of a fighter moving up in class,” wrote Tris Dixon of the 25-year-old “Silencer” who improved his ledger to 20-0 (10).

Photo credits: Garcia/Conwell photo compliments of Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; McKenna-Smith provided by Mark Robinson/Matchroom

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Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Published

6 days ago

April 27, 2025

David A. Avila

Chris-Eubank-Jr-Outlasts-Conor-Benn-at-Tottenham-Hotsour-Stadium

Feudal bragging rights belong to Chris Eubank Jr. who out-lasted Conor Benn to
emerge victorious by unanimous decision in a non-title middleweight match held in
London on Saturday.

Fighting for their family heritage Eubank (35-3, 26 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs)
continued the battle between families started 35 years ago by their fathers at Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium.

More than 65,000 fans attended.

Though Eubank Jr. had a weight and height advantage and a record of smashing his
way to victory via knockout, he had problems hurting the quicker and more agile Benn.
And though Benn had the advantage of moving up two weight divisions and forcing
Eubank to fight under a catch weight, the move did not weaken him much.

Instead, British fans and boxing fans across the world saw the two family rivals pummel
each other for all 12 rounds. Neither was able to gain separation.

Eubank looked physically bigger and used a ramming left jab to connect early in the
fight. Benn immediately showed off his speed advantage and surprised many with his
ability to absorb a big blow.Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Benn scrambled around with his quickness and agility and scored often with bigcounters.

It took him a few rounds to stop overextending himself while delivering power shots.

In the third round Benn staggered Eubank with a left hook but was unable to follow up
against the dangerous middleweight who roared back with flurries of blows.

Eubank was methodic in his approach always moving forward, always using his weight
advantage via the shoulder to force Benn backward. The smaller Benn rocketed
overhand rights and was partly successful but not enough to force Eubank to retreat.
In the seventh round a right uppercut snapped Benn’s head violently but he was
undeterred from firing back. Benn’s chin stood firm despite Eubank’s vaunted power and
size advantage.

“I didn’t know he had that in him,” Eubank said.

Benn opened strong in the eighth round with furious blows. And though he connected
he was unable to seriously hurt Eubank. And despite being drained by the weight loss,
the middleweight fighter remained strong all 12 rounds.

There were surprises from both fighters.

Benn was effective targeting the body. Perhaps if he had worked the body earlier he
would have found a better result.

With only two rounds remaining Eubank snapped off a right uppercut again and followed
up with body shots. In the final stanza Eubank pressed forward and exchanged with the
smaller Benn until the final bell. He simply out-landed the fighter and impressed all three
judges who scored it 116-112 for Eubank.

Eubank admitted he expected a knockout win but was satisfied with the victory.
“I under-estimated him,” Eubank said.

Benn was upset by the loss but recognized the reasons.

“He worked harder toward the end,” said Benn.

McKenna Wins

In his first test in the elite level Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) showed his ability to fight
inside or out in soundly defeating former world champion Liam Smith (33-5-1, 20 KOs)
by unanimous decision to win a regional WBA middleweight title.

Smith has made a career out of upsetting young upstarts but discovered the Irish fighter
more than capable of mixing it up with the veteran. It was a rough fight throughout the
12 rounds but McKenna showed off his abilities to fight as a southpaw or right-hander
with nary a hiccup.

McKenna had trained in Southern California early in his career and since that time he’s
accrued a variety of ways to fight. He was smooth and relentless in using his longer
arms and agility against Smith on the outside or in close.

In the 12 th round, McKenna landed a perfectly timed left hook to the ribs and down went
Smith. The former champion got up and attempted to knock out the tall
Irish fighter but could not.

All three judges scored in favor of McKenna 119-108, 117-109, 118-108.

Other Bouts
Anthony Yarde (27-3) defeated Lyndon Arthur (24-3) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. in a light heavyweight match. It was the third time they met. Yarde won the last two fights.

Chris Billam-Smith (21-2) defeated Brandon Glanton (20-3) by decision. It was his first
fight since losing the WBO cruiserweight world title to Gilberto Ramirez last November.

Viddal Riley (13-0) out-worked Cheavon Clarke (10-2) in a 12-round back-and-forth-contest to win a unanimous decision.

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