By Simon Hirst: Upon watching Saturday night’s heavyweight clash for the WBC title, a mix of emotions ran through me as a boxing fan. Disappointment, confusion, anger were some of the emotions I felt at the first round stoppage. It wasn’t that it was ended in the first round, but how inconclusive the fight was.

I though I would leave it a few days, listen to some of the outrageous statements that were made and consider them before writing this. It seems many ‘boxing experts’ believe that Solis was dominated and for some reason, David Haye will follow the same way, despite him being currently scheduled to face Wladimir (and until Wladimir officially pulls out, there is no reason to make suggestions of a fight with Vitali yet.)

The first thing to note was how the first round went. It started cautiously with Klitschko controlling the centre of the ring, walking Solis down. Solis spent a lot of time circling, looking to pick his shots. Solis did get in with two combinations that landed and apart from the knockdown, were the most action that really happened in the first round. Some judges may have like Klitschko’s seemingly control of the fight, peppering the jab out and stalking Solis down, whilst others may have liked Solis movement and quick bursts of combinations that pushed Klitschko back.

Looking at the knockdown, Klitschko claimed in the interview afterwards and in a video a few days after that he hit Solis ‘very hard’ with the right that knocked Solis down. Let’s look at the facts. Klitschko’s right hand landed. Solis fell on his backside. Solis was unable to continue. Those are fact. Why he was unable to continue was due to the awkward twist in an apparent already damaged knee. What is crazy to suggest is that Klitschko’s right ended the fight. Solis was up before the ten count and couldn’t fight due to his knee. He showed no sign of wobbling legs, nor were his eyes rolling in the back of his head. So the punch did not end the fight, the injury did.

What we saw in the fight was pressure on the Klitschko’s can be effective. Klitschko backed off when Solis jumped in with combinations and didn’t defend them too well. The punch that Klitschko landed was a good punch and definitely why Solis went down, but it was hardly a knockout punch and to try and pull the wool over fans eyes by suggesting it was is an insult to them.

Does Solis deserve a rematch? Sure, why not. He looked like he could give Klitschko more problems than anyone else who has fought him since his return. It would be wise for Solis to have a fight or two before looking for a world title shot again just to get some rust off and get in shape.

Who fights Klitschko next? Apart from David Haye, there really is next to nobody. The heavyweight division lacks authority. The bums who fight for world title barely go to fight. Imagine Tyson against Klitschko. The pressure Tyson would put on Klitschko would be immense, and the speed of his punches would give Vitali a huge amount to think about. Nor do we have any big proven punchers. Lewis Klitschko was a superb fight whilst it lasted as both men stood and traded, wobbled and landed big shots. It is contrast to the one sided beat downs nowadays.

In what may be a controversial statement, but it is a shame that some boxers don’t have the same mentality that some of their MMA counterparts have. Those in MMA are often in decent fights because they train and believe they can be the best. 90% of contenders for the world title are beaten before the ink has signed on the contract. Let’s hope that fearless warrior has turned pro by now because Heavyweight boxing needs depth and with Solis out with his injury, it leaves a huge gulf in quality at the top end of the division.