Let's talk about Bryant Jennings

[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.

[El Kabong]

Bryant Jennings is at the stage of his career where he can choose to stay busy and fight 3-5 bums a year or he can fight 2-3 contenders and get ready for his title shot. I would like for Jennings to keep focusing on his power as he seems to have enough to finish a fair number of fights, it's better than his record shows. Deontay Wilder is in the opposite situation, I'd like to see him box more and get good hard fought rounds in under his belt.

Bryant Jennings vs Dereck Chisora would be great. Chisora is the new Danny Williams, we don't know what is coming to the ring until fight night. He could be fit and ready to fight or fat and ready to lie down but he'll give you rounds and if Jennings could stop or hurt Chisora that would be quite telling. after that a fight vs Seth Mitchell or Malik Scott would be good.

Deontay Wilder needs to fight a guy with expereince that will provide rounds but also be a bit dangerous. I would love to see Wilder fight someone like Oliver McCall just to get the rounds in and then fight Oleg Maskaev because he's a little more dangerous. 42 rounds out of 25 fights is just worthless when it comes to preparing you for a title shot. Hasim Rahman wouldn't be horrible for Wilder to fight, he's a name that people know.

Joe Hanks needs rounds as well I would suggest he fight Guinn and then move on to a more dangerous option maybe Tor Hamer or Mike Perez.

[TitoFan]

Jennings I think if brought along intelligently can be knocking on the door within 3-4 fights, maybe a little more. To me he's the most promising of the bunch. It used to be Mitchell... but again, his mental attitude toward boxing worries me. I like the fact he's an ex-football player, which means he'll more than likely always show up in great physical shape. But he's gotta search within himself if he wants to take the arduous path to HW stardom. "Lack of passion" won't do.

Wilder I'm sort of frustrated about. One more fight against a fat, blubbery bum and I'm gonna start considering him a circus freak. One with a powerful right hand and an ornery attitude... but a circus freak just the same. 25 fights and not a live body in sight is utterly disgraceful... I don't care HOW carefully you're trying to bring along a boxer.

Oliver McCall, even at his ripe old age, would be a HUGELY dangerous fight for Wilder at this point. McCall has nothing to lose and everything to gain, and tends to swing for the fences with every shot. One connect is all it would take for Wilder to lose that "0". But he (Wilder) certainly needs an upgrade in opponent. Someone who will take him past 4 rounds.

I'm thinking some of these prospects need to start facing each other (a la Mitchell-Banks) before too long.

[El Kabong]

Deontay Wilder is only 27 years old...so I can see allowing him to tweak things in fights here and there but I agree eventually you've got to step up and I think Domonick Guinn would be PERFECT for him. Guinn still has a chin, he can punch a bit, he's a bit timid in throwing his punches not for fear of retaliation but he just never seems to pull the trigger. He'll give Wilder 10 rounds which is what Deontay needs.

Also hopefully the sparring with Wlad helped a lot, it should at least show him what a top teir professional looks like.

Seth Mitchell is over for me, he finally fought a BOXER and Jonathan Banks who people have shat on for a long while as being "nothing special" just steamrolled him. It's not about desire, it's not about work ethic, it's about the boxer's mental makeup. In football, you get knocked down everything is cool...next play. In boxing you've got to learn how to cope on the fly and to me Seth just didn't muscle through, Banks made him feel weak and Mitchell wanted a way out

[Rantcatrat]

Tony Grano might be a good match-up for Bryan Jennings next. He's in the top of the WBC rankings, as per @Freedom, he's more experienced than Jennings, and he's from Pennsylvania.

[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?