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Philly's Bryant Jennings will fight for heavyweight title

North Philadelphia boxer Bryant Jennings, who balanced his craft with a full-time job until last summer, will get a crack at heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko on April 25 at Madison Square Garden.

North Philadelphia boxer Bryant Jennings, who balanced his craft with a full-time job until last summer, will get a crack at heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko on April 25 at Madison Square Garden.

Jennings, 30, said a date with Klitschko is the opportunity of a lifetime. He began boxing just six years ago and spent little time as an amateur. The former Ben Franklin High football player still trains under Fred Jenkins, the trainer who needled Jennings for two years to join the ABC Recreation Center at 26th and Master Streets.

A win would make Jennings the city's first heavyweight champion since Tim Witherspoon in 1986 and the second since Joe Frazier. Jennings' bout will come in the same arena where Frazier scored his greatest win - the Fight of the Century against Muhammad Ali in 1971.

"The greatest thing is that I actually get a chance to give it a shot," Jennings said Tuesday night as he sat ringside at a fight card at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia. "It's a great thing for my city, it's a great thing for me, it's a great thing for everyone who watched and witnessed my upbringing. It's just a wonderful thing."

Klitschko, 38, holds three of the four heavyweight world titles and is regarded as the lineal champion. The Ukrainian has not fought in America since 2008. The rigid Klitschko (63-3, 53 KOs) has not lost since 2004. His older brother, Vitali, vacated the World Boxing Council title in 2013 to become a politician.

Jennings (19-0, 10 knockouts) scored a split decision in July over Mike Perez to earn a shot at the WBC title, now held by Deontay Wilder. Jennings will forfeit that opportunity to meet Klitschko and collect the biggest payday of his five-year career.

He quit his full-time job in August as a building mechanic at Center City's Federal Reserve Bank. His fight with Klitschko will be his first as a full-time boxer.

"I did it right," Jennings said. "Even in this day and age where a lot of people are handpicked, a lot of opponents are handpicked for certain guys and guys don't really live up to who they were supposed to have been. I have all the attributes of a great champion. I hold it down for my city and it'll definitely be great to go down as one of the greatest heavyweights in Philadelphia."

West Philly's Eric Hunter scored a unanimous decision over Rene Alvarado. Hunter (19-3) cracked Alvarado (21-4) with a left hook in the fifth round, opening a cut near his right eye.