By Terence Dooley
Chorley’s Michael Jennings’s eight round win over Laszlo Komjathi in Liverpool back in October had a serious impact on his title career as the boxer picked up a hand injury that scuppered a February fight with British champion Kell Brook, a contest that had been postponed once already due to an illness suffered by ‘Ezekiel’. Ironically, Jennings took on Komjathi in lieu of a fight with Brook. ‘The Lurcher’ is back in the gym; the former British champion and world title challenger, who fought for the vacant WBO welterweight title against Miguel Cotto, is waiting on his next assignment.
“I’m just waiting for something. I was supposed to fight Kell but he pulled out just before the first fight and I’d been training for weeks so did an eight rounder in Liverpool. I hurt my knuckle in that one, thought it would be alright, and then found out that I’d damaged my ligaments – I couldn’t punch with my right hand,” revealed Jennings.
“I got told that I just needed to hang on as Kell was boxing Krzysztof Bienias for the WBO Inter-Continental title and we didn’t know if Kell would vacate the British, go onto the proper WBO title or get in a defence of his Inter-Continental belt. I was prepared to fight on that last Liverpool bill [Paul Smith’s British 168lb title defence against local rival Tony Dodson] and am in a situation now where I’m waiting to find out what Kell will do next.
“I’m in the gym, doing my roadwork, and training every day so it is a pretty frustrating time. Denton Vassell is fighting for the Commonwealth title, Matthew Hatton has won the European title and John O’Donnell could be fighting for the British title if Kell defends against him – I’ve not even got a four rounder lined up.”
However, the 32-year-old fighter believes that his long servitude to the sport will see him rewarded with a title fight once he resumes action. “It is frustrating to see all these guys coming up and getting titles that I could potentially win, or at least fight for,” he sighed.
“I always speak to [Frank Promotion’s matchmaker] Dean Powell and pester him, he said there are other boxers in the same position as me and even though I’m in a position where I’m not fighting I’m in a good position because my next fight will be for a title. Dean is alright and lets me know as soon as he hears anything so I’ll just hang on and keep ticking over.”
Ideally, Jennings would like to contest Brook’s British title, although John O’Donnell, who is the mandatory challenger for the title, will want to have first crack at Kell. The WBO Inter-Continental title, therefore, looks an option should Jennings and Brook face off.
“I’ve been a good servant, as they say, to British boxing and have never ducked anyone. I give one hundred percent so deserve a shot. I would like to have won the British title outright but I’d fight Kell Brook for any title. It is between me and Kell, in the opinion of most people, for title of best welterweight in the country so I’ll fight Kell anytime, and fight anyone else in the division as well,” roared the 36-2 (17 early) boxer.
“Kell is unorthodox, they all are from that Ingle gym. People have said he hasn’t boxed anyone like me but you can obviously see that he’s got skill and that a fight between us would be good. His recent wins up until that last one were impressive, he was getting rid of guys for the British title but he didn’t look as good in his last fight, maybe he was a bit ring rusty; he did get the guy out in round six but I wasn’t as impressed by him. I picked up on a few things that can work to my advantage.”
Jennings desperately wants to fight Brook, believing that a win over Kell would fuel a final run at the top-level titles. “It is fight that everyone asks me about,” said Jennings when pondering the Brook situation.
“People may think I keep pulling out but if I have the time then I can be ready for that fight. If I was boxing for WBU world titles and got beat I’d retire, as they are not the guys you should be losing to. When I boxed Cotto he was a top ten, or even top five, pound-for-pound boxer so I lost to one of the best in the world. To lose to someone like that is no disgrace. People say I did well but I didn’t do well – I got beat. People may say I did well because they were saying I’d get chinned in a round but I could have boxed better.”
Cotto finished Jennings off in round five with some carefully placed punches, flipping between body and head in order to land his blows. Jennings believes that he learned a lot of lessons in the Madison Square Garden ring.
“He caught me with a few decent shots and he was strong but he wasn’t as strong as I’d built him up to be in my own mind. That body shot was a good shot, I’d never been hit with a shot like that, and within ten seconds he got me with another one! I came back out, he caught me again, and I saw that it was his pinpoint accuracy and timing that had got him to where he was – he was bang on,” said an admiring Jennings, who would happily fight his vanquisher again.
“I’d love to go back for more! You’d love to have someone like that to test yourself against again. It wasn’t a good experience because we went over a week before and I was really the opponent going into it, no one gave me a chance. There are no excuses, he beat me on the night and was the better boxer, but I’d like to do things differently. I’d fight him again but go over a lot earlier this time!”
Jennings’s fight with Cotto wasn’t his first experience of Stateside fame; the fighter fought a twelve round war in defence of his British 147lb title against a rejuvenated Bradley Pryce back in 2005. The seesaw battle became a WBVA hit and the war became one of the cult classics of that year’s fight roster.
“When I boxed Bradley I knew he was at a changing point in his career,” he reminisced. “I knew he would be better than he had been in previous fights. I went into the fight thinking to stick to my boxing and get behind the jab but he floored me [in round one], I think it was with a left hook, and I thought, ‘Right, I’ll get stuck in’, and that is why it became the fight it was. People have me down as a boxer. I like to think and can adapt styles and did it that night. I had to push him back, work on the inside and luckily people got a nice time out of it, except for me and Bradley!”
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