Bryant Jennings aims to grab respect in heavyweight tilt with Luis Ortiz

Bryant Jennings hasn't been boxing for a long time, but he's made the most of his short stay in the sport.

A three-sport athlete during his high-school days in Philadelphia - basketball, football and shot put - Jennings didn't pick up boxing until the age of 24 and turned pro one year later. Many top-flight boxers, such as Floyd Mayweather, first laced up the gloves at 5 years old.

But what Jennings (19-1, 10 KOs) lacks in experience, he makes up for with an incredible work ethic and positive demeanor. Even after making boxing his full-time job, Jennings kept his day job as a mechanic with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's facilities department, a role he finally quit two years ago.

He only had 17 amateur fights (many fighters have more than 300), going 13-4, and then in his 20th pro fight, he faced heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitsckho. The 31-year-old lost, but surprised everyone by taking Klitsckho the distance in April and even winning three rounds a piece on two scorecards.

It was a win in defeat, but a man as motivated as Jennings isn't simply satisfied with a moral victory, he wants to be heavyweight champ. He'll take one step closer to his goal with a tough matchup against Cuban puncher Luis Ortiz on Saturday at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y., the main event of HBO's Boxing After Dark (10:15 p.m. ET).

"(Ortiz is) confident but a little too confident," said Jennings, who has a 7-year-old son. "He doesn't understand what he is up against. He has never faced an opponent like me. He has to humble himself because it is going to be an embarrassment.

"What I do is, I make sure I am well trained and prepared to knock him out, 100%. The fans will love my 100%. I am standing my ground. I will have him crying in the ring. It is going to be real difficult for him to get over this. I'm going to fight and give my all."

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"By-By" doesn't just work hard in training. He's a vegan and has never tasted alcohol. He believes the diet gives him "an edge in life," and his stamina has been incredible during sparring sessions. Promoter Gary Shaw watched Jennings work in Miami and was beyond impressed.

"To see Bryant Jennings spar 16 rounds with four different guys was an amazing feat to watch," said Shaw. "I've been around this sport for many years and I'm telling you, Jennings is one of the best athletes I've ever promoted. The fact that he was able to handle all the fresh sparring partners that were rotating in was unbelievable."

Jennings, BoxingJunkie's No. 5 heavyweight, is now with trainer John David Jackson, one of the best coaches in the sport. The former middleweight champ has molded Sergey Kovalev into one of the best fighters in the sport and has also transformed Chris Algieri into a more aggressive fighter.

America hasn't had a heavyweight star since Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield ruled in the 1990s. In the wake of Wladimir Klitschko's loss to Tyson Fury, can Jennings emerge as the face of heavyweight boxing on HBO (Deontay Wilder fights on PBC/Showtime)? Maybe.

"What have I not done in my last three fights to show them?," Jennings asked during an interview with Paste BN Sports. "Showing that I'm a good athlete inside and outside of the ring, showing progress, showing that there's something there, all of the above. They choose who they want to choose. That maybe can't be removed. That maybe is definite.

"Showtime making sure their good fighters are commentating on different shows, doing other things with the network and stuff like that. I'm well respected, I carry myself well, I'm not an (expletive). Let me get some of that. It's a maybe. I know what I'm doing. I believe I'm a star in my own mind. You are a star to your fans whether you have 10 or 10,000."

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Ortiz, 36, won the WBA interim heavyweight title with a third-round KO of Matias Ariel Vidondo in October. Ortiz fought for the same title against Lateef Kayode in September 2014 and knocked his opponent out in the first round, but the result was overturned after Ortiz tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.

Both fighters underwent random blood and urine testing by VADA ahead of this bout, and Jennings says he hopes to make Ortiz pay for it on Saturday.

"Every fight is important, but this is the most important fight of my career so far," said Ortiz, who is promoted by Golden Boy. "I am prepared to stop Jennings. I am a boxer-puncher and will knock him out.

"The people will know who is coming for the number one spot. I didn't come here from Cuba to sit here and do nothing. I am coming for the belt; I am coming to become the heavyweight world champion."

The 31-year-old Jennings believes he's getting better all the time with the abbreviated amateur career. He's already faced a better fighter than Ortiz in Klitschko, but an impressive showing against an accomplished amateur (343-19) would improve Jennings' stock tremendously and make everyone take notice.

"With Klitschko losing to Fury, the heavyweight division is wide open," he said. "There are a lot of hungry fighters out there ready to take charge and I'm one of them. I know I got what it takes to become a world champion. The heavyweight division is mine to be conquered."

If Jennings can top Ortiz in a good fight, he just might be able to turn that maybe into a definitely.

(Photo: Frank Franklin II, AP)