JENNINGS TOO SKILLED FOR COLLINS
Scott Shaffer @ ringside

Bryant Jennings W10 Steve Collins... Bryant Jennings continued his climb up the heavyweight division, dominating the limited Steve Collins over ten rounds in Newark, New Jersey.  The official scores were a shutout, three 100-89 verdicts, with Boxingtalk judging it 99-90 in favor of Jennings, whose record stands at 14-0 with 6 KOs.  Collins drops to 25-2, but his wins were over lower-tier opposition, and his defense needs work.  The highlights came when Jennings scored a fourth-round knockdown and snapped Collins’ head back in the sixth round. The only criticism of Jennings’ performance is his lack of killer instinct that could hurt him against a true contender.

By the third round, Jennings’ jab was clearly established as the superior of the two, and he knocked Collins backward with a particularly stiff one. Collins landed a flush shot towards the end of the round that caused Jennings to let out a loud whoop, as if to say, “your best can’t hurt me.” But in the fourth, Jennings landed an uppercut then a right that sent Collins staggering back into the ropes. The referee ruled it a knockdown, which might not have been an accurate call, but Collins certainly benefited from the brief rest. The knockdown was borderline, but the extra point Jennings got on the scorecards would not make a difference because, for all intents and purposes, the outcome was decided as soon as the uppercut landed.  Collins would continue to fight back, but it was clear the rest of the way he was not a serious threat to Jennings. Jennings came out calmly for the fifth round, but by was the way he set down on his combinations, it was clear he no longer feared Collins. He didn’t throw those kinds of combinations often enough, and Jennings didn’t press much in the sixth, although he did land the best punch of the round.  Jennings continued to win nearly every round as Collins’ left eye began to swell.  The reading of the scorecards was anti-climactic: when the two touched gloves before the tenth and final round, it looked like Jennings was already congratulating Collins for a good effort.