By Ian S Palmer
American heavyweight prospect Bryant Jennings will face Andrey Fedosov of Russia in a nationally televised 10-round boxing match this Friday June 14 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Jennings is arguably the best American heavyweight on the scene right now, but he’ll have his hands full with the hard-hitting Fedosov.
The 28-year-old Jennings has a perfect record of 16-0 with 8 Kos. He’s got good boxing skills which he combines with an excellent work rate. If he keeps it up he should get a world title shot sooner or later. He’s quite athletic and has good hand speed. He’s not a giant by any means as he stands 6-foot-2 and usually comes into the ring around 225 lbs. He’s got a good reach at 84 inches and likes to punish his opponents to the body.
Standing in his way will be the 27-year old Russian, who now fights out of California. Fedosov possesses quite a bit of power in his fists which can be seen by his 24-2 record with 19 Kos. He’s a strong fighter, but doesn’t always throw enough punches. He’s not very mobile and this could suit Jennings since he won’t be hard to find. Fedosov is also a good body puncher and is effective at countering.
At 6-foot-1, Fedosov will try to work inside to negate the reach advantage of Jennings while Jennings will try to get off first and utilize his jab and speed. Jennings has been pretty active lately with five fights last year and he’s currently ranked number three by the IBF. If he continues to improve at the same impressive rate it’s easy to visualize him becoming a world champion.
Fedosov turned pro back in 2003 and has beaten the likes of Darnell Wilson, Lionel Butler, Rodney Moore, Byron Polley, and Galen Brown. He was beaten by Lance Whitaker by a 12-round split decision back in 2010 and lost a unanimous six-round decision to Oleksandr Mileiko early in his career in 2004 in Ukraine.
Prediction
Jennings has all of the skills needed to be successful, but nobody really knows how strong his chin is. It’s never really been tested in the past. That could change in this fight though if he gets nailed on the button by Fedosov. Jennings isn’t really a knockout artist and he prefers to use his skills rather than getting involved in brawls. He’ll likely use the same tactics here against the Russian and will attempt to wear him down over the 10 rounds. Look for Jennings to take this bout by a decision and hopefully we’ll finally be able to see what his chin’s made of.
