By John F. McKenna (McJack): Former World Boxing Council (WBC) champion David Haye (25-2, 23 KO’s) and ex Olympic champion and amateur standout Odlanier Solis (17-1, KO’s) are in the unenviable position of having to win back respect in the boxing world. Both Haye and Solis had their chance to win the heavyweight title from the Klitschko’s and both failed miserably.

Solis for his part performed well in the first half of the 1st round using his speed to land some ineffectual punches against Vitali Klitschko. Some have taken Solis’ performance in his brief encounter with Klitschko to the extreme absurdity that he would have won the fight if it had not ended so abruptly. Ahmet Ohner believes that Solis by his performance against Vitali has proven that he can beat him.

Of course Ohner is Solis’ promoter and what else would you expect him to say? He wants Odlanier to get another title shot and all the money that goes along with it.

In reality Solis was being lured in by Vitali who was not impacted by the punches Odlanier was able to land. In the last exchange when Solis went on the offensive he fell into the trap Klitschko had set for him and was stunned by the shot he received to the temple. He suffered the knee injury when he fell backwards to the canvas. In watching the video of the fight it is obvious that due to the knee injury Solis could not have continued. It is also obvious that when he arose to his feet he was still woozy from the punch to the temple.

Solis is fully aware that he must fight his way back into contention and that another title shot is not going to be handed to him. To his credit he is going back into the ring in October. Odlanier’s condition and weight in particular when he returns to the ring will speak volumes. To regain respect he needs to get into shape. Even in his fight with Vitali he carried too much weight around his middle. The condition he is in when he returns to the ring will demonstrate how serious he is.

David Haye also must win back the respect from his fans that so passionately supported him in his fight with Wladimir Kltschko. Through Haye’s non-stop boasting he deluded his British fans into thinking he had a real chance to defeat Wladmir Klitschko on July 2. In fact Haye was favored in the UK.

The “Hayemaker” would not have been faulted if he had made a sincere attempt at winning the fight with Klitschko. Instead he fell into the mode of self preservation. His fans would have forgiven him for losing if he had at least made the effort. But let’s be clear, David Haye’s performance and strategy to win was nothing short of pitiful. In this writers view Haye was attempting to win the fight not by fighting, but by having rounds taken away from Wladimir with his continual “fall downs”. You could even see him looking at the referee each time he flopped to the canvas. Perhaps Haye’s strategy was to win the title by disqualification.

Max Schmeling won the heavyweight championship on a DQ against Jack Sharkey way back in June of 1930. In that fight Sharkey hit Schmeling with a low blow that was so severe that Max could not continue. It was a real foul and not an attempt by Schmeling to hoodwink the referee. Haye’s “fall downs” on the other hand served only to make him look foolish. The matter was made worse by Haye when he paraded his injured pinky toe around the ring after the fight for all the world to see, seemingly using the injured toe as an excuse.

Apparently David Haye still does not have a grasp of the situation he is in. He is not going to be given another shot at Wladimir Klitscko unless he earns it. That would entail two or three victories over top contenders. Of course the “Hayemaker” has an alternative to that. Vitali Klitschko desperately wants to fight David Haye. For David Haye that is probably an unpalatable alternative.