By Dave Lahr: WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (41-2, 38 KO’s) will be facing his toughest opponent since he was taken out in six bloody rounds by an old 38-year-old Lennox Lewis in June 2003 when Klitschko faces the lightning fast Odlanier Solis (17-0, 12 KO’s) on March 19th at the Lanxess Arena, in Cologne, Germany.

Solis is not just a little bit better than the meager opposition that Vitali has faced in the past eight years, he’s a lot better. Shannon Briggs, Vitali’s last challenger, had a chance to do some damage to Vitali, but he tore his left bicep in the 2nd round and was forced to fight the entire bout. Vitali won’t be facing an injured fighter on March 19th, he’ll be facing a former 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist from Cuba, who may be the most complete fighter in the heavyweight division.

The only thing that Solis is lacking is height, reach and conditioning. At 6’1 260, he’s a tad on the short side and his weight has definitely got to come down a little so that he can maneuver around the ring without huffing and puffing. However, Solis looked great in his last fight against 6’6″Ray Austin on December 17th last year. Solis won that bout by 10th round disqualification and fought remarkably well for a fighter that weighed 260.

But as long as Solis can trim off some of the jelly rolls he has hanging off his sides, he should be more than alright to deal with the stiff moving Vitali. Solis will have a huge advantage in hand speed, technical skills and the ability to block and throw combinations. Vitali is a one shot at a time type of fighter and he gets by with his huge size alone, and the weak opponents he’s put in with. Solis will have an easy target to land his shots against with Vitali’s slow movements. It’s going to be like a duck shoot.