KLITSCHKO, WLADIMIR-BRYANT JENNINGS OFFICIAL PROGRAM (2015)

HISTORY: On April 25, 2015 at Madison Square Garden in New York world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko defended his title against Bryant Jennings. Klitschko won a unanimous 12 round decision. This was Klitschko's first bout in the United States since the unification vs. Sultan Ibragimov in 2008. At the time of the bout, Klitschko was 39 years old. The fight averaged 1.637 million viewers on HBO. According to Compubox Stats, Klitschko landed 144 of his 545 punches thrown (26%) whilst Jennings landed 110 of 376 (29%). Jennings became the 23rd opponent Klitschko has defeated for the World Heavyweight Championship. Klitschko broke the record held by Joe Louis for 67 years. This also was Klitschko's 15th win in unified title bouts, breaking the record shared between Jose Napoles and Muhammad Ali. Klitschko reportedly earned $12.5 million for the fight. Bout summary. In the main event at Madison Square Garden, 'Dr. Steelhammer' Wladimir Klitschko defended his world heavyweight title with a 12 round unanimous decision over American challenger Bryant Jennings. In six years, Jennings took up the sport of boxing, won 19 consecutive bouts, and challenged for the world heavyweight title, an impressive accomplishment in such a short span of time for a newcomer to the sport. The bout itself was not Klitschko's best. The bout featured constant holding, with Klitschko leaning, pushing and wrestling Jennings whenever Jennings tried to get inside. Jennings wore earmuffs for most of the bout, standing in front of Klitschko too much and not moving enough, offering an available jab target. Klitschko fought with his left hand down for most of the bout, landing left and right jabs frequently and often. Jennings moved well enough, though, to keep Klitschko off balance and prevent him from throwing his power right hand. Referee Michael Griffin docked Klitschko a point in round ten for excessive holding. Vitali Klitschko was in his corner. Klitschko noted after the bout he found himself pushing the shorter Jennings off but had no argument with the referee's point deduction. "It is what it is," noted Klitschko, "Jennings is a great athlete, a great challenger, and he came in confidently to win. I love to fight here! (in New York City) It is absolutely a great experience." Numerous Ukrainian American fans came out cheering for Klitschko at Madison Square Garden. Jennings, for his part, felt Klitschko was holding a lot, and stated the scorecards were well off. Jennings noted "It could have gone either way. I didn't agree with the wide margin (for Klitschko on the scorecards)." After the bout, Klitschko expressed disinterest in a potential rematch with Jennings. A commentator on BoxNation called the bout "rubbish" and turned British attention to a possible Klitschko versus Tyson Fury match. Wladimir Klitschko versus Jennings was overall a competitive bout. Scoring appeared neutral and fair. Klitschko did appear to be much bigger than Jennings in the ring. Neither fighter appeared hurt at bout's end. Klitschko had a small mouse under his left eye early, but it did not affect the outcome of the bout. Lennox Lewis and actor Bruce Willis were among celebrities at ringside. Offered here is an original, official program for this event.

FULL DESCRIPTION: This is an original, official program which pictures both fighters on the cover. 26 pages complete plus covers and one page bout sheet. Clean inside and out. Not creased or torn. Tight binding. Not scored or written on. 9" x 11 3/4."