9 years ago
Wladimir Klitschko vs Bryant Jennings
Date: 25th April 2015
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, USA
Title: WBA, IBF, WBO & IBO World Heavyweight Titles
Promoter: Tom Loeffler & Gary Shaw
Tv: HBO & RTL
Wladimir Klitschko
(
63
-
3
-
0
)
Weight: 241½ lbs
Bryant Jennings
(
19
-
0
-
0
)
Weight: 226¾ lbs
Wladimir Klitschko successfully defended his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles against previously undefeated Bryant Jennings on April 25, 2015, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Ukrainian champion secured a unanimous decision victory with scores of 116-111 (twice) and 118-109, despite a less-than-stellar performance that left some fans and commentators underwhelmed.
The fight, billed as "The Champion Returns," marked Klitschko's first bout in the United States since his 2008 unification match against Sultan Ibragimov and the first time the lineal heavyweight title had been contested on American soil since Lennox Lewis defeated Vitali Klitschko in 2003. The event drew significant interest, with numerous Ukrainian-American fans in attendance to support Klitschko and celebrities such as Lennox Lewis and Bruce Willis at ringside.
Jennings, who had taken up boxing six years prior and amassed a perfect 19-0 record, proved to be a game challenger but ultimately fell short against the experienced champion. The fight was marred by excessive holding, with Klitschko frequently leaning on, pushing, and wrestling Jennings whenever the American attempted to work on the inside. Referee Michael Griffin deducted a point from Klitschko in the tenth round for his tactics, though the champion had no qualms with the decision.
Despite the holding, Klitschko controlled the bout with his jab, keeping Jennings at range and preventing him from effectively unleashing his power punches. For his part, Jennings stood in front of Klitschko for much of the fight, not moving enough to keep the champion off-balance. According to CompuBox statistics, Klitschko landed 144 of his 545 punches thrown (26%), while Jennings connected with 110 of 376 (29%).
The victory was historic for Klitschko, as he broke Muhammad Ali's record for the most wins in unified championship bouts, notching his 15th triumph.
In the post-fight interviews, Klitschko expressed his love for fighting in New York City and praised Jennings as a great athlete and challenger. While disappointed with the wide margins on the scorecards, Jennings felt the fight could have gone either way. When asked about a potential rematch, Klitschko showed little interest in facing Jennings again.
The lacklustre nature of the bout led some, including a commentator on BoxNation, to label the fight as "rubbish" and instead focus on the possibility of a Klitschko-Tyson Fury matchup. Despite the criticism, the fight was competitive, with Klitschko's size advantage and superior experience being the deciding factors.
Klitschko reportedly earned $12.5 million for the fight, which averaged 1.637 million viewers on HBO and peaked at 1.742 million. Little did fans know at the time that this would be the last victory of Klitschko's illustrious career, as he would suffer defeats against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before announcing his retirement in 2017.
Wladimir Klitschko vs Bryant Jennings on YouTube
