Rosado, Jennings headline upcoming boxing card in South Philly

North Philly's Bryant Jennings

Undefeated heavyweight Bryant “Bye Bye” Jennings, of North Philadelphia, makes his most ambitious start as a pro when he faces Alex Mejias, of Paterson, NJ, in a scheduled six-round contest on Friday, Sept. 9, at the Asylum Arena in South Philly.

Topping the seven-bout card is a scheduled 10-round contest for the vacant Pennsylvania State Junior Middleweight title between Gabriel Rosado, of Philadelphia, and Keenan Collins, of Reading, PA.  The scheduled eight-round welterweight semifinal pairs Ronald Cruz, of Bethlehem, PA, with Anges Adjaho, of Buffalo, NY.

The Rosado-Collins and Cruz-Adjaho fights will be broadcast on Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo Tecate at 11.30pm ET/PT (10.30pm CT).

Jennings is 26 years old.  His 9-0 record includes four knockouts.  In his last fight July 23 in Las Vegas, he scored a knockdown en route to his second six-round decision victory this year over Theron Johnson, of Chicago, IL.  He also knocked out fellow-Philadelphian David Williams and outpointed Mike Miller, of Akron, OH, in other 2011 action.

Mejias, 32, is 11-7, 5 K0s, but has faced much stiffer competition.  His foes include Amir Monsour, Chazz Witherspoon, Tor Hamer, Derric Rossey and Bowie Topou.  Their combined record was 78-5 when Mejias fought them.

It’s a big step up for Jennings, who was 13-4 as an amateur after excelling in basketball, football and track & field at Ben Franklin High School in Philadelphia.

“I’m learning something new about boxing and about myself every day in the gym,” says Jennings, who is managed and trained by Fred Jenkins.  “You’ve got to be smart out there and you can’t rush things, both inside and outside the ring.  With my limited amateur background, every fight is a learning experience.”

Four additional fights complete the card, which begins at 7.30pm.