by James Slater – There is nothing official yet, but more and more it looks like British welterweight Michael Jennings will be Paul Williams’ November 29th opponent – according to a news article on the website of Setanta Sports..
And while many American fans will likely have never even heard of the 31-year-old with the 33-1(16) record, the fact is, despite his lack of a big name, Jennings is a good fighter and a very quick mover. He is also “The Punisher’s” Mandatory challenger with the WBO. Jennings, who is a former British welterweight champion, as well as the holder of the lightly regarded WBU championship, has been telling Setanta how excited and hopeful he is about landing the November 29th fight.
“Everyone’s been saying it’s about time,” Jennings said. “If this one comes up I’ll be buzzing. I’m just waiting for conformation of it. I’d heard he [Williams] was fighting on November 29th. I haven’t had anything confirmed yet. I expect I’ll hear within the week. I’m in the gym in Manchester ticking over, four days a week at the moment.”
It’s likely, if Jennings gets his big chance against Williams, that there will be many comparisons to Gary Lockett and his similar outside chance against Kelly Pavlik earlier this year. Many fans will no doubt claim Jennings will meet a similar fate to the one the recently retired Locket met. However, the 31-year-old is not at all bothered by the fact that he will be seen as a complete no hoper, and says that he will not be overawed.
“I’m not bothered by that,” Jennings declared. “I’ll train hard and just give it a go. [Carlos] Quintana beat him. I think is someone sticks close to him and throws a lot of punches you upset his rhythm. That’s what happened that time [against Quintana].”
The British welterweight has a valid point with regards to the Quintana fight, the first one, that is. But he must remember the way in which the man he may soon be fighting came back to destroy the Puerto Rican inside a single round in the return fight. Still, if the quick and nimble Jennings can make it past the first few rounds (if he does indeed land the fight) he just might have a shot at making the fight interesting.
It would be extremely brave for anyone associated with Jennings to claim he will shock the world and pull off a win though. For if the modest and extremely likeable Jennings did that he would have scored one of the biggest upsets in recent boxing history. But, as he is the WBO #1, has a fine record and is both fast and a dedicated trainer, Jennings deserves his chance as much as the next man.