-Samuel 17:4
“(4) A champion named Goliath… His height was six cubits and a span. (5) He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze, weighing five thousand shekels;(6) on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. (7) His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.”
Wladimir Klitschko (63-3-0, 53 KOs) has ruled boxing’s heavyweight division with a steel-hammer fist for over a decade. With his massive 6’6″ size and knockout strength, he’s struck down every opponent who’s stood in front of him since his last loss to Lamon Brewester back in October 2004.
His long and powerful jab–which he uses like a shield–is the best in the world. It keeps smaller opponents at a distance while he strikes at them with a devastating straight right hand, like he’s thrusting a bronze javelin.
Klitschko avenged his last loss to Lamon Brewster on July 7, 2007. Some other victories since that loss include wins over Chris Byrd, Samuel Peter, Tony Thompson, Calvin Brock, Ray Austin, Eddie Chambers, Hasim Rahman, David Haye, Alexander Povetkin, Kubrat Pulev and any other heavyweight who has dared to enter the ring with him.
He’s truly the most unbeatable force in boxing today.
Samuel 17:8
“Choose a man and have him come down to me. (9) If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.”
David was the youngest of eight sons to Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. When David heard the outcry of the giant, he became outraged and stepped forward to accept the challenge. David said to Saul, leader of the Israelites:
Samuel 17:34
“Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, (35) I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. (36) Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. (37) The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Bryant Jennings (19-0-0, 10 KOs), who stands a good four inches shorter, but with a three inch longer reach, will be the man who meets Klitschko on April 25 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
A worthy heavyweight from Philadelphia, Jennings has shown great talent and determination during his 19 fight professional campaign. His last two victories over Artur Szpilka and Mike Perez, both who held undefeated records at the time, have elevated Jennings into this position–to fight for the lineal Heavyweight championship of the world.
It’s Klitschko’s first fight in the U.S. since he defeated Sultan Ibragimov back in February 2008, in the same building he’ll face Jennings in. Since then, Klitschko has defended his titles 13 straight times, all overseas.
If Jennings wants to win this fight, he’ll have to be like David, who used courage and intelligence in order to take down the bigger and stronger warrior.
Constant movement in this fight will be critical for Jennings, who will need stellar endurance in order to achieve it. As we saw with Klitschko vs. Povetkin, Wlad will use his weight to lean on his opponents, causing detriment to their punch output while exhausting them. If Jennings is dragged into this pattern he’ll find himself in major trouble.
Samuel 17:48
“As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. (49) Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.”
Jennings will have to take chances. His 10 KOs in 19 wins does not give justice to the power he actually has, and although it was earlier in his career, Klitschko has been KO’d before.
It’s not hard to believe that a short, clean shot from the Jennings on the inside could put Klitschko down, similar to that stone David slung at Goliath.
Early Vegas odds show Jennings a healthy underdog (Klitschko -1600, Jennings +800) but we’ve read this story before, cue Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas, a fight that Vegas had Tyson a 50/1 favorite.
For Jennings, a win would be an enormous feat. A champion from Philadelphia would truly resurrect the discussion of the American Heavyweight.
Jennings would become an instant star in boxing and maybe even set up a fight with recent Heavyweight title winner, Deontay Wilder. Now that Gary Shaw Productions is separated from Roc Nation Sports, a matchup between Jennings and Wilder seems a lot more realistic.
Do you think Bryant Jennings has a chance to take down Wladimir Klitschko? Please feel free to discuss in our comment section below.
