For 11 rounds, the action happened in fits and starts. Then, in round 12, heavyweight contender Oscar Rivas lowered the boom, knocking out former world title challenger Bryant “B.Y.” Jennings. Rivas knocked down Jennings in the 12th round, then a follow-up flurry pinned Jennings against the ropes and forced referee Gary Rosato to stop the fight.

At the time of the stoppage, the judges’ scorecards were as followed: 106-103 Jennings, 106-103 Rivas, and 105-104 Rivas.

Rivas (26-0, 18 KOs) defended his NABF belt and picked up Jennings’ NABO and IBF International titles in the process. Jennings (24-3, 14 KOs) saw his five-fight winning streak come to an end.

“I worked hard for this fight, and this is the result we were looking for,” Rivas said. “Before the beginning of the last round, my coach reminded me how hard we had worked, and that motivated me to leave everything in the last round. I saw that the combination of a hook and straight right hand was landing, and I kept throwing it until I knocked him down.

“I demonstrated that I’m unbeaten for a reason. Now after this triumph, the boxing world will know my name. This victory puts me closer to being among the elites of the division. I want to write my name in the history of Colombian boxing.

Said Jennings: “It is what it is.”

|||

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Aug. 16, 2018) – Boxing is being featured for the first time at the recently opened Ocean Resort Casino (formerly Revel), which is located steps from the Atlantic City boardwalk.

Heavyweights will take center stage on Saturday evening when Philadelphia’s Bryant “B.Y.” Jennings faces Alexander “Sascha” Dimitrenko in the 12-round heavyweight main event for the vacant NABO and IBF International heavyweight titles.

Jennings-Dimitrenko will be broadcast on ESPN at 10 p.m. ET, with the entire undercard to be shown on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

The fighters and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum gathered Thursday for the final press conference. This is what they had to say.

Bob Arum

“This is a terrific card because any time you highlight Philly fighters, you’re going to get fights. Philly fighters bring the heat. They’re exciting.”

Bryant Jennings

On whether he still has the hunger: “If you’re not hungry, you don’t eat. And if you don’t eat, then you starve. If you starve, then you die. And I want to live. I’m hungry. I didn’t eat. I need to eat. Just make sure it’s vegan. In fact, it don’t gotta be vegan because Saturday, I’m eating Russian!”

On whether he’s a different fighter following back-to-back defeats in 2015: “Every fight is a different fight. As you grow, things change. You make changes as you grow in your sport and your craft. So, yeah, I’m a different fighter.”

On fighting taller fighters like Dimitrenko: “As a kid, I was told, ‘never tell your secrets.’ You thought I was about to say something {laughing}?”

Alexander Dimitrenko

“This is a great opportunity for me. I’m here to win this fight. I’m 36, and I have big plans. I want to win this fight. I look forward to make this fight and to show what I can.”

ESPN, 10 p.m. ET
Bryant Jennings vs. Alexander Dimitrenko, 12 rounds, vacant NABO and IBF International heavyweight titles

|||||

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (June 27, 2018) — Heavyweight contender Bryant “B.Y.” Jennings was born and bred in Philadelphia, but on Saturday, August 18, he aims to bring some of that Philly firepower to the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

Jennings (23-2, 13 KOs) will face off against Alexander “Sascha” Dimitrenko (41-3, 26 KOs) for the WBO International heavyweight title in the 12-round main event at the Ocean Resort Casino’s Ovation Hall. This will be the first boxing event at the Ocean Resort Casino, a state-of-the-art resort property set to open tomorrow, June 28.

Promoted by Top Rank, tickets, priced at $127, $77, $52, and $37 (including facility fees), will go on sale Friday, June 29 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets will be available at the Ovation Hall box office, online at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 800-745-3000.

Jennings-Dimitrenko will be televised LIVE on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 10 p.m. ET, and all undercard bouts will be streamed on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

“Dimitrenko is a big, competitive fighter,” Jennings said. “I worked very hard to gain my position in the heavyweight division. Every fight for me is a risk. While I’m confident in myself, I don’t take any opponent lightly. Boxing fans can expect me to bring my best.”

“I am looking forward to this fight, as this is an opportunity to advance in the heavyweight division,” Dimitrenko said. “I love to train and push myself to the limit. I want to be great. I’ve never had so much fun in boxing. The fight against Jennings comes at just the right time, and I will take advantage of this opportunity.”

Jennings is a heavyweight with momentum, having won four consecutive bouts since making his Top Rank debut last August. In his last bout, April 28 in Philadelphia against Joey Dawejko, he won a 10-round unanimous decision. Ranked No. 8 by the WBO, a win over Dimitrenko will move him closer to a second world title shot. Jennings put the heavyweight division on notice on April 25, 2015, when he gave unified champion Wladimir Klitschko a tough test en route to a decision loss. Following a knockout loss to Luis Ortiz later that year, Jennings took a 20-month break from the ring before signing with Top Rank.

Dimitrenko, a longtime contender, turned pro in 2001 and won the first 29 bouts of his career before dropping a majority decision to Eddie Chambers on July 4, 2009 in a WBO title eliminator. He won the European heavyweight title in 2011 with a fifth-round TKO over Yaroslav Zavorotnyi and made two successful title defenses. Following a third-round stoppage loss to eventual WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker in October 2016, Dimitrenko went 3-0 in 2017, including a first-round stoppage of then-undefeated prospect Adrian Granat.

For more information visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing,facebook.com/trboxeo, facebook.com/espndeportes; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, @ESPN @ESPNBoxeo, @ESPNDeportes

Use the hashtags #JenningsDimitrenko and #HartGavronski to join the conversation on social media.

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks.

The ESPN+ lineup includes 18 exclusive, live Top Rank events per year, dozens of fights from other Top Rank undercards, an unmatched library of the greatest fights in boxing history, and two exclusive, original boxing programs: The Boxing Beat with Dan Rafael (Tuesdays) and In This Corner (twice monthly).

It also features hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, Grand Slam tennis, PGA TOUR golf, college sports, international rugby, cricket, the full library of ESPN Films (including 30 for 30) and more. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App. Already the leading sports app, the new ESPN App is the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans and is a showcase of the company’s culture of innovation. With a richer, increasingly more personalized experience, the new ESPN App curates all of ESPN’s incredible content into an experience unique to each fan’s individual tastes. ESPN+ is also available through ESPN.com.

|||||

Date: Saturday, April 25, 2015

WBO/WBA/IBF  HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE BOUT

Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York USA

Promoter: K2 Promotions (Tom Loeffler) / Gary Shaw Productions (Gary Shaw)

Supervisor:  Francisco Valcarcel, Esq.

Referee: Michael Griffin

Judges:  Max DeLuca (118-109); Steve Weisfeld (116-111); Robin Taylor (116-111)

Results:   The Super Champion Wladimir Klitschko retained the WBO/WBA/IBF Heavyweight Title against Bryant Jennings by UD.

TV: Germany RTL   USA HBO  Hungary DigiSport

|||||||||||||||

klitschko-workout5

Report/Photos by Karl Freitag

IBF/WBO/WBA heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko hosted a media workout at the Lucky Street Gym in Hollywood, Florida on Tuesday. Klitschko is preparing to defend his 10-year title reign against top rated challenger Bryant Jennings on April 25 at Madison Square Garden. The event will be televised live on HBO.

Klitschko patiently answered the same questions over and over for the various media outlets, went through some painful looking stretching exercises, then looked sharp in sparring six rounds. Also on hand was unbeaten New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker, who worked the pads with trainer Kevin Barry. Unfortunately for reporters, Parker didn’t spar against Klitschko on Tuesday.

thumbs_klitschko-workout1  klitschko-workout2

klitschko-workout680    thumbs_klitschko-workout3

 

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/klitschko-looks-good-in-workout-285309#more-285309

|||||

Klitschko_Jennings

By:  Patrick Byrne (HBO) –

New York City (February 4, 2015) Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO will defend his 10-year title reign against top rated challenger BRYANT JENNINGS on Sat., April 25 emanating from the “The World’s Most Famous Arena”,Madison Square Garden and televised Live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Said Klitschko about the highly anticipated battle, “I do have great respect for Bryant Jennings and his achievements. He has good movement in the ring and good technique. I know this will be a tough challenge.”

“I am extremely happy to fight in New York City again. I had my first unification fight there and a lot of great heavyweight matches have taken place at Madison Square Garden. It will definitely be a great fight night and I will do everything for it from my side.”

Stated undefeated contender Jennings, “This is the moment I have been waiting for,” now it’s time to bring the belts home.”

“For the fourth time Wladimir will be boxing in the world’s most famous arena.” said BERND BOENTE, CEO of the Klitschko Management Group. “It’s always something special to promote at Madison Square Garden, where legends such as Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield stood inside the ring. We are looking forward to another exciting fight and a great event.”

Continued TOM LOEFFLER, Managing Director of K2 Promotions: “Wladimir has proven to be the most dominant heavyweight champion in recent history and we are looking forward to another great performance on April 25.”

“We’re proud to present Jennings with the opportunity to win the Unified Heavyweight Title of the World,” said GARY SHAW, head of Gary Shaw Productions

“On April 25th at Madison Square Garden, Wladimir Klitschko defends his heavyweight championship for the first time in the United States since 2008,” said Peter Nelson, vice president, programming, HBO Sports. “Heavyweight is boxing’s supreme glamour division, and its champion could not be a better ambassador to the sport in a career heading toward historic landmark achievements. Bryant Jennings has an opportunity to halt those ambitions and become America’s first unified heavyweight champion in more than 13 years, challenging for the crown in the media capital of the world. HBO is thrilled to present the event live on our flagship World Championship Boxing series.”

“It is an honor to host the World Heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Garden and welcome back Wladimir Klitschko, who last fought at The Garden in 2008,” said Joel Fisher, executive vice president, MSG Sports. “Throughout our 135 year existence, The Garden has hosted the very best in sports and entertainment, and to bring the World Heavyweight Championship back so our passionate boxing fans can see Bryant Jennings challenge for the heavyweight title is a moment not to be missed.”

Holder of the IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO and “The Ring Magazine” world titles and undefeated over the last ten years, Klitschko returns to Madison Square Garden for the fourth time sporting a record of 63-3-0 (54KO’s).

On November 15, Klitschko scored a fifth round knockout over #1 ranked contender Kubrat Pulev in Hamburg, Germany. Looking as dominant as ever during his illustrious career, Klitschko dropped the heavy handed Bulgarian four times in front of a sold out crowd at the 02 World Arena.

Returning to HBO® for his third straight fight, Philadelphia native Jennings has compiled a record of 19-0-0 (10KO’s) over his five-year professional career.

Making his HBO and Madison Square Garden debut on January 25, 2014, the 30-year-old Jennings devastatingly stopped undefeated Polish contender Artur Szpilka in the tenth and final round.

Following up on his knockout victory over Szpilka, Jennings won a 12-round unanimous decision over top contender Mike Perez on July 26, 2014 setting up the showdown with Klitschko.

http://www.boxeomundial.com/wladimir-klitschko-vs-bryant-jennings-saturday-april-25-live-hbo/

|||||||||