Wladimir Klitschko won a unanimous decision over game challenger Bryant Jennings on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, on HBO Boxing. Klitschko was in clear control for much of the fight, yet the previously unbeaten American was far more effective than many previous opponents.
The bar has been set so high that when a fighter comes in and wins a handful of rounds, and makes you work in the other, suddenly it’s a hugely impressive feat. But let’s not let that part of the script become too much of a focus — Klitschko was never in jeopardy of losing the fight. Jennings did far more than simply survive for the duration, but there was no question of who the victor was.
The official scorecards read 116-111, 116-111 and 118-109 for Klitschko, who had also had a point deducted for holding. While 118-109 is a stretch, 116-111 sounds about right, and considering the point which was taken away, that means Wladimir still won the fight 9 rounds to 3. So, again, let’s not make too much of Jennings’ game performance. The calls of the HBO announcing crew for a rematch and continually discussing the effectiveness of Jennings were highly, highly overstated.
With the win, Klitschko retains all of his many titles, and continues to move higher up the all-time list of heavyweight champion title defenses, both overall and consecutively.
On the undercard, Sadam Ali turned in a highly impressive performance against Francisco Santana. Santana had ballooned up to super middleweight size after the weigh-in, yet Ali was still able to bust him up and break him down en route to a decision win.
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Mandatory WBO Challenger Tyson Fury is closing in fast on his dream clash with Klitschko following the Ukrainian’s latest victory. And as usual, he’s wasting no time making his voice heard.
The WBO will now order a 30-day negotiating period to start between both promotional camps to reach an agreement for the mouthwatering showdown. If an agreement is not reached in the given period then a purse bid will be set for the fight.
Promoter Frank Warren, in association with Mick Hennessy, will now look to bring the fight to the UK and stage it at an outdoor stadium in one of the biggest heavyweight fights on these shores in recent years.
Undefeated Fury last defeated Christian Hammer in February with an eighth round stoppage and is confident that he will be the man to end the reign of the modern day great.
Here’s what Fury had to say:
“Again, Klitschko did what he had to do against Jennings and won.
“It was the same as it always is though, the smaller man trying to get inside Klitschko’s jab with him holding and leaning, although he was slightly more aggressive against Jennings.
“Lets see him try that against someone who’s the same size as he is, younger, stronger, fitter, faster and with a knockout punch – Me.
“I still haven’t seen anything he does to concern or worry me at all, I’m just supremely confident that I’ll be the man to end his reign on the throne and begin the Fury era.
“The heavyweight division has been dull for over a decade, I’m going to shake it up and bring back the sparkle.”
