Photo: Spc. Donovon Lynch, U.S. Army via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Vegan heavyweight Bryant Jennings has stopped Alexander Dimitrenko in the ninth round at the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City on Saturday, August 18, winning the IBF International and vacant WBO-NABO heavyweight titles, according to his fight record.
The referee waved it off at 1:56 of the ninth round. Dimitrenko protested that he was still able to fight, but Jennings had been landing heavy shots, and the win moves the Philadelphian to 24-2.
This was Jennings's biggest fight since 2015. Dimitrenko came in at 41-3 with 26 knockouts and four inches of height on the 6ft 3in American, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reported before the fight. Jennings has rebuilt after back-to-back defeats to Wladimir Klitschko and Luis Ortiz in 2015, and in April he beat Joey Dawejko to win the Pennsylvania heavyweight title.
Jennings was vegetarian for two years before going fully vegan in 2015, and at 33 he believes plants are the key to a long career. He told the Inquirer in fight week:
Being vegan and changing your diet and focusing on your health is a more long-term thing. It's definitely kept me feeling young, looking young, recovering absolutely phenomenally, but the long-term effects I really look forward to.
He says he no longer suffers from cramps and recovers faster after hard sessions. And he doesn't bother with fake meat or protein supplements: “It comes from the vegetables. Every animal that we eat is a herbivore, and they get their protein from the plants.”
Jennings follows in the footsteps of vegan heavyweight champion David Haye, who told us going vegan made him stronger than he’s ever been. In MMA, Nate Diaz beat Conor McGregor, and last month Neil Robertson won the Riga Masters on a plant-based diet.
No meat, no problem.