By John F. McKenna (McJack): Crunch time will arrive for Odlanier Solis when he steps into the ring in Germany on Saturday night at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany against WBC Champion Vitali Klitschko. Although most fans and boxing writers think that Odlanier Solis AKA “La Sombra” (17-0, 12 KO’s) will be disposed of with relative ease by Vitali Klitscho AKA “Dr. Ironfist” (43-2, 38 KO’s), there are those who insist that Vitali is slowing down and that Odlanier has the style, youth and skill to pull off what would be a monumental upset.

Solis had an outstanding amateur record, winning the Heavyweight Olympic Gold medal at Athens in 2004. “La Sombra also won the Gold medal in the World Amateur Championship at Heavyweight in 2001 and 2003 and at Super Heavyweight in 2005. In addition Solis defeated David Haye and Sultan Ibragimov as an amateur. His amateur pedigree is without question.

Odlanier turned pro in 2007 and immediately put on a huge amount of weight. For that reason many people question Solis’s work ethic as a fighter and how dedicated he is. In his most recent outings Odlanier has come in at over 260 lbs. Not what you would expect for a WBC #1 ranked heavyweight contender. To make matters worse “La Sombra” seemed to be defensive when questioned about his weight by boxing writers. His response that he was able to do more sit ups than anyone he knew indicated that he had not even acknowledged that he had a weight problem. Since that time Solis went into some heavy high altitude training. The question that must be asked is, was it too little too late? It is very difficult to lose a massive amount of weight in a couple of months when preparing for what will be the toughest fight of Odlanier’s life. Training for a championship fight, particularly against an opponent like Vitali Klitschko, requires not just getting in shape, but in working on strategy as to how best beat your opponent.

A great deal of time must be spent on sparring, hopefully with someone who best replicates the opponent you will face in the ring.

Vitali Klitschko as always, will be in superb shape when he enters the ring on Saturday night. He takes every opponent seriously and is never out of shape. For that reason he is able to concentrate on tactics and strategy rather than having to worry about losing a lot of weight. As is usually the case with “Dr. Ironfist’s” detractors, there are some boxing fans and writers who are predicting a victory for his opponent. It does not matter who the opponent is, if he is fighting Vitali Klitschko, he is going to win. We hear the constant drumbeat that Vitali is slowing down and that he has lost the power in his punches. He will be easy to hit because he has gotten so slow.

I have seen all of Vitali Klitschko’s recent fights. Perhaps his detractors see things that I am unable to. From my point of view, there has been no deterioration in his skills. Vtiali appeared to be at the top of his game against Shannon Briggs. Even Briggs acknowledged after the fight with Klitschko that he is a very good fighter and that he was surprised at his speed.

This writer for one is hoping that the fight between Vitali Klitschko and his mandatory challenger Odlanier Solis is competitive. As good as Solis was as an amateur it must be remembered that moving up to the Pros in boxing as in any sport is a big leap. Amateur boxers fight only three rounds. They do not have to prepare for a twelve round fight. A fighter who has been at the top of his game as long as Vitali Klitschko has is going to have a huge advantage because of the competition he has faced. At 6’1” it is difficult to see how Odlanier Solis is going to get inside on the 6’7” Vitali Klitschko without getting hammered in the process. I look for a mid to late round stoppage by Vitali.