Let's talk about Bryant Jennings

[El Kabong]

The new top American flavor of the month in the heavyweight division is now Bryant 'By-By' Jennings (although his 'By-By' should be spelled 'Bye-Bye' but that's beside the point) he had a nice win over Bowie Tupou who did test Bryant's chin a bit. Bryant passed the chin test and scored a lovely KO. I would like to know your thoughts on Bryant's potential, his pros & cons, and which styles or fighters you see as good matches or bad matches for him. He's not especially tall or muscular for the division but he has a good reach and some good athletic ability, like a less robotic Frank Bruno.



After a few of you provide your views of the guy I will provide my own. I'm not a fan of his but I will say he has a fighting style that will catch the eye of most fans looking for an "exciting heavyweight".

[TitoFan]

I don't think the Klitschkos need to be quaking in their boots just yet. Jennings looks to be one of the better American HW prospects. I'm not off the Seth Mitchell bandwagon just yet, even if he did get caught by Banks in his last fight. So it's Jennings and Mitchell to me, in that order. Thing about both is they have pretty good fundamentals. Jennings looks to have the better chin, 'cause now I'd have to suspect Mitchell's a little bit. Or maybe he just needs to learn to survive getting tagged.

Banks I'm not completely sold on. He looks smallish to me and would never be a threat to a Klitschko. And Wilder? Well, it's hard to tell. He seems to have attended the Cesar Chavez Jr. School for Picking your First 25 Opponents. No one's yet to see what he can really do. The other guys (Hamer, Hanks) I don't know much about.

[El Kabong]

I'm not suggesting he's on track to even fight much less beat a Klitschko brother (faaaaaar from it) I am saying he's a heavyweight that people won't mind watching. His style is a mix of things, he moves and stays outside well, but he will also be a bit reckless. He showboats & drops his hands, he talks during the fight, he's flashy that way.

The deal is if Jennings fights a boxer he'll be more apt to slug, if he fights a slugger, he'll pick his spots to box and slug. Jennings is just recently finding his power and is hopefully not falling in love with it. He's got a long way to go to get to the top of the division but he's going to have some entertaining fights coming up I am certain.

I think Jennings vs Wilder is too soon right now, Wilder needs more rounds. Jennings vs Hanks is too soon, Hanks needs better opponents. Jennings vs Mitchell is too soon, Seth needs to rebound. Jennings vs Banks is too soon for Jennings. I think Jennings needs rounds, he needs, experience, and he needs to be on TV.

Jennings vs the following in his next fights would be nice:Tor Hamer, Dereck Chisora, Alexander Dimitrenko, Manuel Charr, Albert Sosnowski, but the most interesting matchup is probably vs Malik Scott who had stopped Bowie Tupou before Jennings got his shot at him.

Malik Scott has been around for ages and would be a great feather in Jennings' cap if Scott takes the fight.

[TitoFan]

I was looking at it from the Klitschko perspective but, no... there's no American HW right now that's even within shouting distance of a Klitschko match. Jennings is more of a total package than either Wilder, Mitchell, or Banks, IMO. What you said about Hanks (needs better opponents) goes triple for Wilder. 25-0 with 25 KOs looks great on paper. But like I said... he looks to be taking after Chavez Jr with his choice of opponents to start his career. Seth worries me a little, but it's mostly because of what I read regarding his not being passionate about boxing. That's a deal breaker right there. Other than that, he just needs to learn to survive being tagged a little better, 'cause he did a shitty job of it against Banks. Your sequence for Jennings in his next fights would be nice... it has a nice, gradually increasing tone to it. Meanwhile, fans in general are getting antsy about Wilder still fighting bums after 25 professional fights. Gotta wonder what's gonna happen when he fights someone good.

[Hulk]

Like I've said before and you have disagreed with Lyle, Jennings is probably the best American Prospect due to his speed and athletic ability. Also, he is consistent and hungry which is rare for American heavyweights. Jennings and Wilder look like the best right now of the bunch. I liked that combo Jennings landed to put Tupou away, left hook, right uppercut. I still don't think any prospect can be declared "the best American Heavyweight" until they defeat the Elephant Seal Arreola. He is a contender with KO power and a good beard. Jennings and Wilder are still prospects. I'd never heard of Tupou, tho he did look like a more muscular John Ruiz.

[TitoFan]

That combo by Jennings was sweet, wasn't it? Let's see how all these HW's are continued to be brought along. I certainly hope they start to feed Wilder some live bodies though. His last few opponents have been disappointing to say the least.

[El Kabong]

Right now Arreola is the best American heavyweight, he's tried and tested and ready to compete vs the very top.

The next best IMO is Jonathan Banks, he's got more experience than anyone else. he's fought (albeit in a losing effort) vs Tomaz Adamek who beat Arreola as well. He's a smart fighter, he's got decent power, he's got decent handspeed, and he is and always has been a boxer...he didn't come from football or basketball.

After that you have prospects and that what Jennings, Wilder, and Hanks are...they are prospects. they are old enough to start really testing themselves but they haven't yet. Wilder is the youngest of the bunch and with his frame I could see his handlers wanting him to fill out before matching up vs more solid fighters. Joe Hanks I believe is the most polished but we'll just have to agree to disagree on that.

[Hulk]

We are all forgetting about Malik Scott

[El Kabong]

He KO'd Tupou before Jennings did.

[Rantcatrat]

Right now Arreola is the best American heavyweight, he's tried and tested and ready to compete vs the very top.

The next best IMO is Jonathan Banks, he's got more experience than anyone else. he's fought (albeit in a losing effort) vs Tomaz Adamek who beat Arreola as well. He's a smart fighter, he's got decent power, he's got decent handspeed, and he is and always has been a boxer...he didn't come from football or basketball.

After that you have prospects and that what Jennings, Wilder, and Hanks are...they are prospects. they are old enough to start really testing themselves but they haven't yet. Wilder is the youngest of the bunch and with his frame I could see his handlers wanting him to fill out before matching up vs more solid fighters. Joe Hanks I believe is the most polished but we'll just have to agree to disagree on that.

I like Jennings. He trains hard. He gets good work in Philadelphia. Evn without a major promoter, he's fought on NBC a couple of times. I may think higher of Malik Scott than you do, Lyle. I think Scott may be too big of a step to take right now. He just has such a big edge in experience. If there is ever someone who needs to step up his level of competition, its Scott.

Jennings has done the most so far of the prospects mentioned above. The other two prospects that should be included in that group are Tor Hamer and Kelvin Price. I know Kelvin Price beat Hamer by split decision, but Hamer beat Kevin Johnson in the prizefighter series too. If Hamer beats Glazkov on 12/22, which I'm not sure he does, he has by far the best resume of the bunch. Glazkov had an extensive amateur career (beating David Price, losing to Solis and Cammarale). Hamer actually has a decent amateur background too though.

Price faces Wilder this weekend, which should give us a good idea of where they stand.



If Arreola is the measuring stick, I'm not sure any of them pass the mark. Arreola may be better than all of them. Do you think any of them can beat Magomed Abdusalamov?