Joel Caudle vs Bryant Jennings Preview August 24th, 2024
Former heavyweight contender Bryant Jennings of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania returns to the ring for the first time in just over five years as he takes on Joel Caudle of Raleigh, North Carolina this Saturday, August 24th. The eight-round bout takes place in Jennings’ hometown. Jennings hasn’t fought since July of 2019 when he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Joe Joyce in England. It was his second straight defeat as he was stopped in the 12th round by Oscar Rivas and lost his IBF International, and WBO NABO Heavyweight Titles six months earlier. Caudle last saw action 12 months ago when he lost a six-round unanimous decision to Dante Stone.
Caudle vs Jennings Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Joel Caudle +420
- Bryant Jennings -525
My Pick
Jennings will be turning 40 years old in September but appears to be coming back for another kick at the can. He enters the ring with a mark of 24-4 with 14 Ko’s. His four defeats as a pro came at the hands Joyce five years ago and Oscar Rivas. He also dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in April, 2015 in a shot at the IBF/IBO/WBO belts and Luis Ortiz then stopped him in the seventh round in his very next fight eight months later for the interim WBA Heavyweight Title. Jennings then won his five of six fights with four of them coming by KO. However, he basically faced journeymen during that span and was then stopped by Rivas.
Jennings stands 6-feet-3-inches tall with an 84-inch reach and his long arms typically 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 usually waits too long to go on the attack and that’s what hurt him against Klitschko and several other opponents. He was stopped by Ortiz and Rivas and was dropped in the fourth round by Alexander Dimitrenko in 2018 and it appears Jennings can’t take a punch like he used to.
As far as experience goes, Jennings turned pro back in 2010 and has fought 172 rounds since then. He isn’t the hardest hitting heavyweight around but 58 .3 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage. His best victories have been against the likes of Dimitrenko, Joey Dawejko, Artur Szpilka, Mike Perez, Steve Collins, Chris Koval, Andrey Fedosov, Bowie Tupou, Siarhei Liakhovich and Maurice Byarm. Jennings didn’t get involved in boxing until later in life and had a short amateur career with a reported 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.
When it comes to Caudle, he’s 34 years old and basically a journeyman who makes the ring walk with a mark of 9-8-2 with 6 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2015 and has 87 rounds of experience under his belt. He measures 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 74-inch reach so gives up five inches in height and 10 inches in reach to Jennings. As far as power is concerned, 66.7 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. However he’s lost seven of his last eight fights and has won just two of his past 13.
Caudle has been stopped three times; by Cassius Chaney in the first round in 2019; by Sonny Conto in the third round in 2021 and by Lenier Pero in the first round in 2022. He’s also lost decisions to Joe Hanks, Johnnie Langston, Sahret Delgado, George Arias and Dante Stone and fought a no-contest with Stephan Shaw in 2018. his two draws were with colby Madison over six rounds in 2017 and an eight-round affair with Niall Kennedy a year later.
Prediction…
Caudle went 7-0 to start his career and was unbeaten in his first eight fights but just three of those eight opponents had a winning record. Things then went downhill from there. However, Jennings often appears to be his own worst enemy since he can be too cautious even though he possesses the skills of an elite boxer and he may be even more cautious as this is his first fight in five years. He needs to let his hands go and take advantage of his superior size and his experience. Jennings was running out of steam in his last few fights and will need to be wary of Caudle’s power but he should have enough left in the tank to take care of him or this will likely be Jennings’ last pro fight.
Jennings has the size and experience.
Play: Jennings -525 @ BetOnline.ag
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Bryant Jennings betting • Joel Caudle betting