By Dave Lahr: According to reports, Odlanier Solis’ (17-1, 12 KO’s) his right knee has been confirmed by a German hospital in Cologne, Germany. Solis suffered a torn cruciate ligament and torn meniscus in his 1st round knockout loss to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (42-2, 39 KO’s) on Saturday night at the Lanxess Arena, in Cologne, Germany. Solis had been dominating the round with right hand power shots and fast punches.

However, with only 15 seconds to go in the round, Solis was hit high on the forehead by a short right hand from Vitali that caused Solis to lose his balance and twist his right knee. You could see the knee twist in replays and Solis was unable to support himself. It was a weak arm punch that Vitali landed and not a power shot that would hurt anyone least of all a fighter with the Olympic credentials that Solis has. The problem for Solis was that he was lunging forward trying to land a punch at the time of the stoppage, making him vulnerable to being knocked off balance. It didn’t take much for Vitali to mess up Solis’ balance by landing his weak arm shot.

After the fight was stopped, Vitali seemed to lose his temper and kept trying to get at Solis. Vitali obviously had no idea how hurt Solis’ knee was, and neither did the German crowd, who angrily booed the brave Cuban warrior. I feel bad for Solis because he looked embarrassed and upset by this because he’s a lot better fighter than this and he was well on his way to winning the round with ease at the time the injury occurred.