Bryant Jennings vs Oscar Rivas Preview Jan. 18th
There’s a good heavyweight showdown this Friday, January 18th at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York where Bryant Jennings of Philadelphia will be facing off against unbeaten Oscar Rivas of Colombia. The 12-round bout for the can be seen live in the USA on ESPN+. Jennings last fought in August when he stopped Alexander Dimitrenko in the ninth round for the vacant WBO NABO Heavyweight Title and the IBF International Heavyweight crown. Both of those titles are on the line in this fight. Rivas’ last action was in January of 2018 when he beat Fabio Maldonado via a 10-round unanimous decision.
Jennings vs Rivas Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Oscar Rivas +164
- Bryant Jennings -184
My Pick
Jennings is now 34 years old and enters the ring with an impressive mark of 24-2 along with 11 Kos. His two defeats as a pro came at the hands of former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine by way of unanimous decision in April, 2015 and Luis Ortiz then stopped him in the seventh round in his very next fight eight months later and won the interim WBA Heavyweight Title. Jennings has won his five fights since then with four of them coming by KO. However, he has basically faced journeymen during that span.
Jennings stands 6-feet-3-inches tall and has a good reach of 84 inches. His long arms allow him to keep his opponents at bay with a stiff jab and are also useful defensively. However, he often doesn’t let his hands go enough for the physical attributes that he owns. He can often wait too long to go on the attack and that’s what hurt him against Klitschko. He was stopped by Ortiz and was dropped in the fourth round by Dimitrenko, but overall, Jennings has shown a pretty good chin throughout his career. He turned pro back in 2010 and has fought 148 rounds since then.
As for his power, Jennings isn’t the hardest hitting heavyweight around and owns a current knockout ratio of 54 per cent. His best wins have been against the likes of Artur Szpilka, Mike Perez, Steve Collins, Chris Koval, Andrey Fedosov, Bowie Tupou, Siarhei Liakhovich and Maurice Byarm. However, he hasn’t really fought a notable opponent since losing to Ortiz close to three years ago. Jennings didn’t get involved in boxing until later in life and had a short amateur career with a mark of 13-4. he was a national Golden Gloves runner up in 2009 and has also won the USBA Heavyweight crown as a pro.
The 31-year-old Rivas fights out of Montreal, Canada and has a perfect mark of 25-0 along with 17 Kos. He had a pretty successful and extensive amateur career and beat Kubrat Pulev as the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. He turned pro a year later and has boxed 95 rounds since then. He’s not very big compared to most other current heavyweights as he stands just over six-feet tall and has a reach of 76.5 inches. This means he gives up 2.5 inches in height to Jennings as well as 7.5 inches in reach. Rivas carries quite a bit of power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 68 per cent.
Even though he’s got good power, Rivas has gone the distance in three of his last four outings. Since turning pro he’s captured the NABF Heavyweight Title and has beaten the likes of Carl Davis Drumond, Jeremy Bates, Jeremiah Karpency, Joey Abell, Jason Pettaway, Shawn Cox and Matthew Greer. He’;ll be taking a step up in class and fighting in America for just the second time. In fact, all but two of Rivas’ bouts have been held in Canada. He has power, a good chin and boxing skills, but hasn’t been tested in the upper level as of yet.
Prediction…
Jennings appears to be his own worst enemy since he’s often a bit too cautious even though he possesses the skills of an elite boxer. He needs to let his hands go and take advantage of his height and reach difference over Rivas as well as his experience. Jennings also needs to be wary of his opponent’s power. This is an interesting matchup and one I think Jennings can win if he comes out swinging and doesn’t allow Rivas to work his way inside.
Jennings has all the tools, he just needs to utilize them.
Play: Jennings -184 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Bryant Jennings betting • Oscar Rivas betting