Editorials

All-Philly Affair: Bryant Jennings and Joey Dawejko Battle Saturday on ESPN

This Saturday, April 28 former world title challenger, Bryant Jennings (22-2, 13 KO) will face Joey Dawejko (19-4-4,11 KO) in a 10 round all Philly affair. The ESPN televised event is an eight fight card, presented by Top Rank and Peltz Boxing Promotions.

This Saturday, April 28 former world title challenger, Bryant Jennings (22-2, 13 KO) will face Joey Dawejko (19-4-4,11 KO) in a scheduled 10-round Heavyweight all-Philly affair. The ESPN televised event is an eight-fight card, presented by Top Rank and Peltz Boxing Promotions.

Although this is a middle tier Heavyweight fight, promoter Russel Peltz told ESPN.com that this has pretty big implications. “I believe Jennings vs. Dawejko is the biggest all-Philly matchup in 36 years,” said Peltz.

I’m not going to run through the last 40-year history of Philadelphia boxing, but come on Peltz, take your promoter hat off for a minute and look at what we got here.

We got two tough guys with a hometown rivalry and some previous history, nothing more. Jennings and Dawejko have fought once before in the amateurs, with Dawejko getting the nod. This shouldn’t have any effect on the outcome on Saturday. In fact, without the Philly flair, this should be a serious mismatch.

Jennings wasn’t able to overcome Wladimir Klistchko or Luis Ortiz, but Dawejko is a journeyman in comparison. Since these losses, Jennings is on a three-fight win streak all coming by knockout. With a 14-inch reach advantage and a half a head on his opponent, Jennings will have all the physical advantages he needs for a finish.

Nonetheless, Peltz seems to think this will be exciting. “Jennings vs. Dawejko is my kind of fight,” said Peltz. “I guarantee there will be more action in one round than there was in 12 rounds of the recent Heavyweight unification match between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker.”

There’s a reason this isn’t the main event. It will be a quick one.

The real question is where does Jennings go from here. Can he make a comeback and challenge for a world title again? He needs to take advantage of the ESPN platform, put all of his skills on display, and impress the boxing community if we are to believe him.

 

Header photo by Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing

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