By Keith Idec
Bryant Jennings believes he can work his way into position to challenge Wladimir Klitschko or Vitali Klitschko by the end of this year.
That process will continue Friday night, when Jennings (16-0, 8 KOs) is scheduled to encounter Russia’s Andrey Fedosov (24-2, 19 KOs) in a 10-round heavyweight fight in Bethlehem, Pa. Defeating Fedosov in this NBC Sports Network main event (8-11 p.m. ET) would bring Jennings one step closer toward realizing his dream of facing one of the two heavyweights who’ve dominated their division for most of the past 10 years.
Whenever the undefeated fighter from Philadelphia gets the opportunity every legitimate heavyweight wants, Bryant knows he’ll put forth the effort he hasn’t seen from many of the opponents the Klitschkos have dominated in recent years.
He definitely won’t fight scared, despite significant size and experience disadvantages against either brother.
“God is God, right?,” Bryant asked during a press conference Wednesday to promote Friday’s card at Sands Bethlehem Event Center. “The Klitschkos are not God, at all. They’re just tall guys. Say in the perspective of basketball, you’ve got Nate Robinson that’ll dunk on a 7-footer.
“I mean, come on. It’s only fear. A lot of guys have fear and you shouldn’t fear at all. First of all, I don’t have any fear. So I’m going in there with a whole lot of courage, a whole lot of confidence and a whole lot of will. We fight to win. We don’t get in there to pretty much take a loss. I’m a champion. I have a champion’s mind, a champion’s spirit, so I fight to win. If you ask me about a fight, I’m going to say I’m going to win. There’s no way I’m going to tell you I’m going to lose. Even if deep down in my heart I think I have a chance of losing, that’s a possibility, a chance. But never 100-percent, saying I’m going to lose.”
The 28-year-old Jennings thinks many of the contenders Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 51 KOs) and Vitali Klitschko (45-2, 41 KOs) have beaten in recent years were defeated fighters before they even set foot in the ring. He doesn’t see the point of approaching his first heavyweight title shot that way, no matter how huge of a literal and figurative challenge he’ll face.
“When I go in there I’m definitely going to work and do what their last five or their last 10 opponents didn’t do,” Jennings said. “Those guys that go in there and look for a check, they survive the whole 12 rounds, even if they make it. They don’t even look like they want to swing a punch. They don’t look like they really want to win.
“I mean, at some point you’ve got to at least lose your head. I mean, something. Go for broke. Guys don’t do it. They don’t have what it takes. And I have what it takes to start off, before we even get in the ring, and that’s the will to win.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
