Solis defeats Austin, will be fighting Vitali Klitschko next

Cuban heavyweight sensation took the final step to a world title fight in front of 6.000 fans at the American Airlines Arena in Miami Friday night by beating former title challenger Ray Austin by DQ in the 10th round.

Solis dominated the fight in the early rounds pounding Austin at his will while looking very sharp and focused defensively. Austin did not have a lot to offer against the permanent pressure and fast hands of the 2004 Olympic gold medallist from Cuba.

In the fifth round Solis increased the pace and sent Austin to the floor with a sharp and fast left to the kisser. Austin beat the count and managed to escape the further attacks of the Cuban who looked ready to finish his opponent in the fifth. After that Solis slowed down and threw less punches and combos while Austin constantly tried to apply his jab while moving backwards.

Asked why he gave his opponent the chance to recover from the knockdown Solis said: “He insulted me at the press conference. So I didn’t want to finish him early. I wanted him to suffer. That’s why I let him survive. I wanted to make him look like an idiot – which he did.“

In the 10th round Solis finally got back into his rhythm and thrashed Austin threw the ring. The “Rainman“ from Cleveland (Ohio) could barely keep on his feet and fell onto his opponent in the middle of the round. Seconds before the round ended Solis once more connected with a beautiful combo. Austin tried to grab the Cuban but fell onto him again on the ropes. To prevent both big men from falling out of the ring on the commentator’s table promoter Ahmet Öner and referee Tommy Kimmons jointly kept both men in the ring. When Austin hit Solis after the bell to end the round he was finally disqualified and the fight was waved of officially at 2:59 minutes of the tenth.

With this big win over Austin in the books Solis will now go on to challenge WBC world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko within 100 days. “He will beat Klitschko“, Austin said right after the fight. „He’s accurate and has good defense. He showed a lot. I see him being the next World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion. He’s good.“

In the co-main event of the night International Boxing Federation (IBF) light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud remained unbeaten defending his title against tough Colombian Fulgencio Zuniga. Although Cloud connected with some hard shots and combinations throughout the fight Zuniga managed to hang in and survive. Still “Thunder“ Cloud took home a one-sided unanimous decision win. Scores were 117-109 (twice) and 118-108.

Former welterweight and light middleweight champion Ricardo Mayorga gave a successful comeback after a 27 months lay-off stopping Michael Walker in the 9th in a middleweight contest.
German heavyweight hope Erkan Teper scored his third knockout win in his third pro-fight stopping previously unbeaten Donato DiMartiis from Miami in only 109 seconds.

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