Wladimir Klitschko vs. Bryant Jennings: Last Shadow Boxing – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Wladimir Klitschko took his time with his appearance, almost half an hour waiting for the press in the atrium of the Madison Square Garden before the world heavyweight champion with his entourage – about a dozen muscle men in red tracksuits – like a Hollywood diva forties the staircase heruntergeschwebt came.

Boring it was not in the meantime. Because there was still Shannon Briggs. For months, the man who was once beaten terribly by Vitali Klitschko, whose brother around the globe, appears in restaurants where the champ squashed his burger pursued surrounded him with a jet ski if Klitschko is traveling with the paddleboard and pushes at every public appearance of the Ukrainian World Champion in the spotlight. And so he had also the opportunity, as Klitschko, 39, appeared virtually on the doorstep of the aging boxer from Brooklyn.

So Briggs stood in the marble hall and krakeelte that he was the true challenger, the true champion. Klitschko’s fight against the young Jennings Bryant on Saturday? A farce! Let them set Klitschko again cannon fodder before instead of a real opponent like him. Shannon Briggs. And to underscore that drew the former conqueror of George Foreman off his shirt and presented an impressive toned for a 43-year-olds upper body.

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Who will win the World Heavyweight Championship fight between champion Wladimir Klitschko and Bryant Jennings?

Klitschko tried Briggs Kidding dismiss’ tireless self-promotion when he finally came after the long speeches of the organizers and promoters and champions of the microphones, he whispered something about that Briggs had to protect them from themselves. But Briggs had as its aim the afternoon long since reached: Fierce was discussed with the attending journalists, if not actually Briggs would be a formidable opponent for Klitschko.

Verbal bow – then clear announcement

Since the efforts helped little to push the Saturday’s fight between Klitschko and Jennings as a great duel. Klitschko even praised Jennings as dangerous, extremely athletic fighter, “with good movement in the ring and excellent technique.” None of the previous speaker, whether it Jennings promoter Gary Shaw was or Klitschko promoter Tom Loeffler, failed to broadcast on the big Boxtradition of Jennings’ hometown of Philadelphia pointed and the young upstart in a row with the boxing legends of “Philly,” Rocky Marciano to ask Joe Frazier and Tim Witherspoon.

And of course, also Jennings himself was combative. In his speech, he bowed politely before the merits of the dominant heavyweight coupler his generation. But he had not come to New York to lose. “It’s going fucking down on Saturday,” he shouted into the microphone, a true child of the rough working-class town 200 kilometers south of New York.

But conceptual Jennings really know what he was talking about? Although he is a talented heavyweights, the 30-year-old has been in his only six year career yet suffered no loss (19 fights, 19 wins, ten by knockout). Jennings is also trained as long as no Klitschko challenger more. And yet, a foe of Klitschkos format he never faced – and certainly not with its huge range. “It is quite an uphill battle,” said the boxing expert of the US sports channel ESPN, Dan Rafael and added smugly: “. Not everyone is born to be a heavyweight champion”

Klitschko wants to be world champion

A delicate resurgence of heavyweight boxing in the United States signaled the emergence of a fighter like Jennings course anyway. Together with WBC champion Deontay Wilder he gives hope for an end to the long lull in the weight class this side of the Atlantic, which has brought since Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield no fighter with charisma and format more prominent.

The attention of the audience is therefore long since migrated to other weight classes. On the Box blog will this week in Las Vegas talked more about the great Paquaio-Mayweather fight on May 2 than Klitschko Jennings. Almost shyly pointed Tom Loeffler at the press conference pointed out that there were still tickets ringside for Saturday night. From $ 100 per piece.

Ironically Klitschkos tormentor Shannon Briggs spoke from the off what many boxing fans in the United States think only: “People do not know anything of this fight here.” And indeed, Klitschko is not a driving force in the United States, its uninspired performance against Zlatan Ibragimov during his last visit to New York has certainly contributed. This is also why it took seven years to Klitschko came back to the USA.

Now, says Klitschko’s manager Berd Bönte, have all voted for the first time since 2008. The opponents, the venue and the fact that both RTL and the US pay TV channel HBO had to get on board. A little will have but probably also played a role that Klitschko sooner or later beside his belts the WBA, WBO and IBF probably still want to get the Hüftschmuck the WBC of Deontay Wilder, to really be the world champion. This could be an interesting match actually. And it’s never too early to prepare the ground for such a fight.