Bryant “B.Y.” Jennings’ climb up the heavyweight ladder continued, as the Philadelphia native got up off the deck to knock out Alexander “Sascha” Dimitrenko to win the vacant IBF International and NABO heavyweight titles in front of 2,543 fans at Ocean Resort Casino’s Ovation Hall.
Jennings (24-2, 14 KOs) was knocked down with a big right hand in the fourth round, but rebounded to knock down Dimitrenko (41-4, 26 KOs) twice in the eighth round. An uppercut in the ninth round sent Dimitrenko to the canvas again, and referee Allen Huggins immediately called a halt to the contest, much to Dimitrenko's chagrin.
"I was prepared for a tough 12 rounds," Jennings said. "I did what I had to do. I was in great shape. He's a big dude. He's not as slow as I thought. I made adjustments, and I got the job done."
Said Dimitrenko: "I wanted to continue the fight. I don't know why the referee stopped it."
Philadelphia bantamweight prospect Christian Carto (16-0, 11 KOs) sent his large cheering section home happy, defeating Javier Gallo (25-16-1, 13 KOs) via unanimous decision in an eight-rounder by scores of 80-71, 80-72, and 79-73.
“I was looking for {the knockout}, but it didn’t come,” Carto said. “Next time, I need to set shots up instead of loading up on one big one.”
Atlantic City product Thomas "Cornflake" LaManna (26-2-1, 9 KOs) earned a unanimous decision victory in an eight-round super welterweight bout against Matthew Strode. All three judges scored the bout 79-71.
Undefeated heavyweight prospect Oleksandr Teslenko (14-0, 11 KOs) scored a first-round knockdown en route to a six-round unanimous decision (60-53, 59-54, and 58-55) against Avery Gibson (9-9-4, 3 KOs).
Former 130-pound champion Jason Sosa (21-3-4, 15 KOs) got back in the win column with a unanimous decision against Reynaldo Blanco (14-5, 8 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Sosa knocked down Blanco twice in the eighth round and prevailed by scores of 78-70, 77-72, and 79-69.