By Jeff Sorby: Undefeated heavyweight prospect Deontay Wilder (26-0, 26 KO’s) wants to fight undefeated heavyweight prospect Bryant Jennings (16-0, 8 KO’s) next after Wilder defeated previously unbeaten Kevlin Price (13-1, 6 KO’s) by a 3rd round knockout on Saturday night at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. Wilder knocked Price out with a monster right hand in the 3rd round to get the knockout win.
After the fight Wilder said this as quoted by RingTV “I want to be back in the ring as soon as possible, and I definitely want Bryant Jennings. I want him…the fans want it. There can only be one of us.”
That would be a good fight but also a potentially difficult one for Wilder right now because he would absolutely have to knock Jennings out in order to win the fight because Jennings’ style is more suited to winning a decision Wilder’s fight style. Jennings throws a lot of punches, has a great jab, and has decent but not great power.
Jennings may not hit as hard as Wilder, but he lands so many punches that he makes up for it by the sheer numbers of shots he throws. Right now I’d say that Jennings is the much better skilled fighter than Wilder, although that doesn’t mean he would win. Wilder hits incredibly hard with Lennox Lewis type power with his right hand, and if he can land that shot often enough, he’ll have a good chance of knocking Jennings out or anyone he faces.
I’d be surprised if Golden Promotions, the promoters for Wilder, allowed him to take a fight with a fighter as advanced as Jennings. Wilder looked pretty raw last night in beating Price, and it would sad to see Wilder in a fight where he’d pretty much absolutely need a knockout in order to win.
Wilder needs more work on using his jab because he wasn’t throwing it nearly enough last night, and he rarely threw any left hooks. It was either a pawing jab or a right hand, and not much else. To beat a fighter like Jennings, Wilder needs more tools.