Bryant Jennings Eager To Face Stiverne-Wilder Winner

By Jake Donovan

As heavyweight titlist Bermane Stiverne and unbeaten challenger Deontay Wilder wait on the sidelines while their camps continue to finalize terms for their overdue heavyweight title fight, the line of future challengers continues to grow. 

Whenever the fight happens—currently targeted for the 1st quarter of 2015—the winner will already have to look forward to a mandatory title defense versus Bryant Jennings. The undefeated and athletically gifted heavyweight from Philadelphia earned his place in line following a points win over Mike Perez at Madison Square Garden in July. 

Jennings took the fight knowing there was a strong chance he would have to wait around for the mess between Stiverne (24-1, 21KOs) and Wilder (32-0, 32KOs)—and specifically Don King (Stiverne's promoter) and Al Haymon (Wilder's adviser)—to sort out. There was a chance for a stay busy fight in November, but the 30-year old contender would rather await the main course rather than nibble on appetizers.

“I could have fought this month but my mind is set on fighting for the WBC world title,” said Jennings (19-0, 10KOs). “I worked my way to the top of the WBC rankings and now it's time for me to make my mark in history."

In his last two fights—both eliminations bouts, which took place on Madison Square Garden grounds and aired live on HBO—Jennings defeated a pair of then-undefeated contenders in Perez and Artur Szpilka (17-1, 12 KOs). The win over Szpilka marked Jennings' HBO debut, making an instant splash with his 10th round knockout win. 

It's been nothing but training and waiting since the win over Perez, but Jennings is no stranger to hard work and believes his efforts will soon pay off. So, too, does his team.

“Bryant is a very gifted athlete who is hungry to show the world that he's an elite fighter,” said promoter Gary Shaw, who signed Jennings last October. “He's got the athletic ability to have a long career in this sport. 

"The heavyweight division needs a guy like Bryant to be the ambassador for American fighters. He has all the tools to become that guy.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America . Twitter: @JakeNDaBox