Philly's Jennings to fight heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko

BRYANT JENNINGS walked toward his ringside seat at 2300 Arena last night, not an easy trek when so many people want to say hello and congratulate you. He eventually found his way to his seat and sat down, relieved.

He held on closely to two cellphones, either could vibrate any moment. Especially given yesterday's news.

The rumored matchup between the man who goes by "By-By" and heavyweight titan Wladimir Klitschko became a reality early yesterday morning.

Klitschko will defend his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world heavyweight titles against Jennings on April 25 at Madison Square Garden.

"Most people don't even make it to this point to even be able to take on this opportunity," Jennings said. "I believe I'm going to win, but that's besides the point. The greatest thing is that I actually get a chance to give it a shot."

His journey from North Philadelphia to building mechanic at the Federal Reserve to boxer has been well-documented. He routinely saved his vacation time and took off before fights to give himself time to train.

He worked at the Reserve until last August, when he gave his 2 weeks' notice and became, finally, a full-time boxer - something he's been doing professionally only since February 2010.

"You just can't come into a game such as this boxing game, especially in this new generation, and do the things that I've done," Jennings said. "I started from the bottom and I'm here."

On a night when boxing was on display in his hometown, Jennings is hopeful he can join the long list of champions from Philadelphia. Jennings has a chance to join the likes of Joe Frazier and Tim Witherspoon as heavyweight champions from Philadelphia.

If Philadelphia heavyweight champions are rare, then so too are heavyweight titleholders from America - at least in today's boxing landscape. This past weekend, Alabama's Deontay Wilder became the first American-born fighter to hold a heavyweight belt since Shannon Briggs in 2006. Wilder dominated Bermane Stiverne this weekend for Stiverne's WBC title.

"I did it right," Jennings said. "Even in this day and age, where a lot of people are hand-picked, a lot of opponents are hand-picked 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, of a great fighter, of a great role model, of a great, legendary person, legendary boxer.

"I hold it down for my city, and it'll definitely be great to go down as one of the greatest heavyweights in Philadelphia."

But the task isn't and won't be easy.

Klitschko, 38, has long dominated the depleted heavyweight division. The Ukrainian (63-3, 53 KOs), typically fights in Germany, and hasn't lost since 2004. It'll be his first fight in America since his 2008 victory over Sultan Ibragimov at the Garden.

Jennings (19-0, 10 KOs) fought twice at the Garden in 2014, winning against previously unbeaten opponents. His most recent fight in July, a split-decision win over Mike Perez, put him in line for a shot at the WBC title.

He'll pass that up to take on the division's finest.

"There is no other strategic way to go about this, because I wasn't a mandatory for Klitschko, and I understand the opportunity I was given," Jennings said.