An Interview With Bryant Jennings

An Interview With Bryant Jennings

By Rachel Aylett

At the press conference on Wednesday to publicise the big “Heavy Duty” card at the o2 Arena in London on 13 July, I caught up with one of the headliners, American heavyweight Bryant Jennings and asked him some questions concerning his forthcoming fight with British heavyweight Joe Joyce.

First of all Bryant, how are you going to cope with Joe Joyce’s Juggernaut style, i.e., his come forward non-stop, aggressive style?

“Er, that’ll be Juggernot! Defence …. movement, and swinging back! How’s he gonna cope with what I’m bringing”

You could be his Kryptonite – because he doesn’t have the fastest feet.

“He doesn’t have the fastest hands either – and he’s not multi-dimensional. I’m not going to say he’s one-dimensional, but he doesn’t have a lot.”

Were you aware of him before being offered the fight?

“Yeah, pretty much.”

So you knew virtually straight away whether or not you were going to take the fight?

“Yeah. In this game I have to keep an eye on who might come and try to steal my stuff – break into my yard.”

What happened in the Oscar Rivas fight? The fight was in the balance on the cards, although I had you leading by two points.

“What happened is something that you can’t predict and something that you can’t explain either. The more people ask for explanations about it, the more it sounds like I’m making excuses.”

It’s just heavyweight boxing?

“Exactly.”

You’ve fought Klitschko and Luis Ortiz – which was the hardest fight for you?

“I HAD Ortiz!! One more round and he would have been done. I don’t think any of them were hard fights, or fights that I wasn’t in. I was in those fights, I was there.”

You made Klitschko look terrible.

“Right. That was a lack of experience though, if I knew how it looked from the outside, I probably would have known to be comfortable and to do more. If I’d known at the time (what in hindsight) then it would have got done. That outcome happens with 70% of all fights.”

Were you happy with the way you boxed against Rivas?

“Not necessarily. It’s like when you’re sitting back waiting for somebody to shoot your guns and you really didn’t shoot – and then by the time you’re ready to shoot ….. oh man, and then goddamn you find that you’re all shot up!”

Is it just because he was awkward or was it just an off night?

“No, he wasn’t awkward, it was just a slow fight. Everything was slow. It just wasn’t a night for me to be enthused about.”

How do you see Rivas doing against Whyte?

“I see him losing. I see him getting hurt. Even if he’s getting hurt though he can still swing some stuff, anybody can.”

You said you weren’t surprised by Ruiz beating Joshua, did you always see Joshua as being vulnerable?

“Yes. Wilder’s vulnerable too, he just has that punch. Everybody shows some type of vulnerability, but the better fighters eliminate those weaknesses and practice on their craft, you know, defence, offence, movement, all aspects of boxing.”

What about the rematch? Joshua’s got to win hasn’t he?

“He has to win, but the style match-up is not good.”

Do you think he’ll lose the rematch as well?

“Unless there was something that prevented him from performing.”

He definitely didn’t look like himself before the fight.

“But that’s what we all say, “oh, you didn’t look like yourself”. I get it, but we are supposed to be 100% when we step into the ring.”

Are you still with Top Rank – what type of contract do you have?

“I’m still with Top Rank. I’m comfortable with it. I accept that boxing’s political. I get that you can try and do your own thing and be 100% independent all you want, but in this business you’ve got to lay down with somebody – and I’m in a good position with a promotion that has a good position. That’s acceptable in this game, it’s either that or step away.”

Being with that organisation is likely to lead to Tyson Fury if you beat Joyce – would you be comfortable fighting him?

“That can happen and most likely will happen. It’s a good style match-up. I also have that other style too, that pressure style, where I can throw them bombs.”

I seem to remember that you kept a job as a caretaker or something well into your pro career? When did you give that up?

“That’s right, at the Federal Reserve Bank. I gave that up in 2014, right after the Mike Perez fight. I’ve been a full-time pro since then.”

Are you happy with how your career has gone?

“I still have work to do. I’m not content and I’m not settling. There are still things I need to accomplish and I’m going to work hard to get them.”

Are you still training with John David Jackson? If so, where will you do your training and who will you be sparring?

“Yes I am, I will be training in Houston, they’ve got a lot of resources in Houston. As for my sparring partners – I never really like to put that out there.”

When will you come to London, how long before the fight?

“About a week.”

You’ll enjoy boxing at the o2 – it will be a great atmosphere.

“I’m quite sure I will!”

Your prediction for the fight?

“Win by any means!”