Klitschko, 39, looks to show he's still improving vs. undefeated Jennings
It has been seven years since the heavyweight champion of the world fought on American shores. That all changes Saturday.
The champ is back, as Wladimir Klitschko will take on undefeated American Bryant Jennings at Madison Square Garden (HBO, 10 p.m. ET).
With boxing in the spotlight over the next few weeks, Klitschko felt the time was right to return.
"I'm excited," the 39-year-old Klitschko said. "It's something I've been missing for several years. I've been busy and the demand in Europe is huge, but boxing in the States is as big as ever before and I think it's great that these fights are happening one week apart with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao and my fight prior to that fight. It will get young men excited to get into a boxing gym instead of running into trouble and try to become the next Floyd, Manny, Klitschko or Jennings."
Klitschko calls his 30-year-old opponent a "Rocky Balboa story." Jennings, like the famous movie character, is from Philadelphia, and looking to make his name by upsetting the heavyweight champion. He also recently quit his day job as a mechanic to focus solely on boxing, and Klitschko expects to get his best shot.
Jennings has 10 knockouts in 19 victories, but it is his boxing skill and movement that has won him fights. However, the question is whether or not that is enough to withstand the sheer size and power of the hulking 6-foot-6 Klitschko.
"He's young, he's very athletic, and he's very motivated," Klitschko said. "I think he's going to challenge me in the ring. I think Bryant Jennings will be better than he usually is and give more of everything: power, endurance and motivation than ever because this is life and this is his chance."
At 39, many wonder how much longer we will see Klitschko (63-3, 54 KOs) in the ring. His older brother Vitali, four years his elder, stepped away from the ring two years ago, but Wladimir has the lifestyle down to a science, and that has kept him fresh.
"People are always asking me how I can be in boxing a quarter century and still be motivated," he said. "I see the fans and when I'm getting ready for the fight, I don't get bored of it. I'm not a team player, meaning it's not like soccer or American football or basketball, where they play all through the year except four or five weeks and you're with the team in training camp. Boxing is simple. I have two or three fights a year, my time in between fights is for my other interests in life and I'm back to boxing. I have a good on-off relationship with boxing."
That allows Klitschko to continuously improve, something he says he is still doing at this stage in his career and something which many believe will carry him to his 22nd straight victory when he faces Jennings on Saturday.
"I've changed my hardware and my software," Klitschko said. "Hardware is my body and technique and how I move and software is strategy and how I can improve. I'm not the same as my last fight or a few fights ago, and I carry over my experience, endurance, and the technical part of it. I have new software. I'm getting better and more sophisticated."
Anything can happen, and Jennings is young and undefeated, but he will have to beat the best version of Wladimir Klistschko to take the title.
And that is a daunting task.
