By Eric Thomas: The latest heavyweight to come out of the woodwork to step in for David Haye as IBF/World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko’s next opponent for his June 20th bout is heavyweight prospect Odlanier Solis (13-0, 9 KO’s), who is very interested in taking on Wladimir and feels that he can beat the giant Ukrainian if given the chance.
Odlanier Solis
Would David Haye Be Better Off Fighting Odlanier Solis?
By Dave Lahr: Count me in on one of those who see David Haye (22-1, 21 KOs) making a huge mistake by fighting either of the Klitschko brothers at this point in Haye’s career. The experience or that thereof for Haye, 28, is something I’m troubled by most of all. I could care less about whether he deserves a shot at one of the heavyweight titles, because clearly he doesn’t with what little he’s accomplished in the heavyweight division, but that’s not big deal that he’s skipping over 15 other more deserving fighters in the IBF/WBC/WBO.
Tickets Selling Fast For Pavlik-Rubio; Cuban Stars Gamboa, Lara and Solis Victorious – News
Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow could keep the Pavlik Nation from the Chevrolet Centre in Youngstown this morning to purchase tickets to World Middleweight Champion KELLY “The Ghost” PAVLIK’S homecoming title defense against No. 1 contender Marco Antonio Rubio.
Solis Stops Burnett, Looks Fat and Slow
By Manuel Perez: In another bout involving a skilled but badly flawed former Cuban amateur star on Friday night, unbeaten heavyweight contender Odlanier Solis (13-0, 9 KOs) stopped American Kevin Burnett (13-2-1, 8 KOs) in the 8th round on Friday night at the Buffalo Bill’s Star Arena, Primm, Nevada. Solis, 28, the former heavyweight 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist for Cuba, staggered Burnett with a powerful left hand in the 8th round and then landed a right hand followed by a left hook to the head.
Lara-Aguiar, Solis-Burnett, Gamboa-Gonzalez, Margarito – News
Cuban rising stars Yuriorkis Gamboa, Odlanier Solis and Erislandy Lara looked focused but also relaxed at the press conference for their fights on Friday at Terrible’s Primm Valley Casino Resorts in Primm, Nevada.
“We had a great preparation, everything went according to plans”, stated “El Ciclon” Gamboa. “Of course, it is hard to work over Christmas and New Year’s but I love what I’m doing and I know that I have to make certain sacrifices to become champion of the world.”
Gamboa-Gonzalez, Solis-Burnett, Berto-Collazo – News
Yuriorkis Gamboa and Odlanier Solis are ready to shine at the season premiere of ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” next week (January 9th) at Terrible’s Primm Valley Casino Resorts. The 2004 Olympic gold medallists had no spare time over Christmas or New Year’s but have been working hard at their training camp in Primm, Nevada. “They both did a great job and will be perfectly prepared for their fights”, states coach Ismael Salas. “Odlanier is fired up to show the US public what he is made of. And Yuri knows that this is his last step before going for his first world title. He knows that he has to be focused and concentrated to fulfil his great dream to become champion of the world.”
Latest Boxing News – Arreola, Haye, Solis & Huck
David Haye and Hayemaker Boxing will arrive in Liverpool on Monday, December 15 for a press conference to announce details of the blockbuster HAYEMAKER 6 show to be held on March 28, 2009 in Europe’s Capital of Culture.
Promoter Adam Booth and Head of Boxing Dave Coldwell will join former world cruiserweight champion Haye at the Jury’s Inn Hotel (30 feet from the entrance to the Echo Arena) on Monday, with proceedings getting underway at around 11 AM.
Solis Stops Welliver – Boxing News
By Dan Ambrose: Unbeaten heavyweight prospect Odlanier Solis (12-0, 8 KOs) stopped American Chauncy Welliver (35-5-5, 12 KOs) in the 9th round on Saturday night at the O2 World Arena, Kreuzbert, in Berlin, Germany. Solis, 28, staggered Welliver with a hard combination in the 9th round, and then followed with a flurry of shots ending with the referee Daniel Van de Wiele stepping in and putting a stop to the fight at 1:23 of the round. Solis, the 2004 Olympic heavyweight Gold Medalist for the Cuban National team, showed little in the way of power during the fight and was forced to pound out the victory with an accumulation of blows to the head of Welliver.
At 6’2” 282 lbs, Welliver looked badly out of shape, yet he moved incredibly well around, in fact, much better than the similarly overweight Solis. Welliver fought really well in the 1st round, jabbing and hooking him to the head repeatedly. Solis, not the fastest of heavyweights, seemed slow to react to Welliver’s early attack and looked a little startled by the fury of Welliver’s early onslaught.
Solis Crushes Van Sickle
By Erik Schmidt: Former 2004 heavyweight Olympic Gold medalist Odlanier Solis (11-0, 7 KOs) stopped journeyman Chad Van Sickle (22-9-3, 12 KOs) in the 1st round on Friday night at the Kugelbake Halle, Cuxhaven, in Niedersachsen, Germany. Solis, 28, dropped the badly over-matched two times in the round before the referee finally stepped in and halted the slaughter at 1:38 of the 1st round. Solis, who has struggled with his weight since turning professional in 2007, came into the fight weighing a portly 256, much too heavy for his 6’1″ height, if you ask me. His American opponent, Van Sickle, looked even more overweight, weighing a chunky 237, and although the figure doesn’t sound heavy in comparisons to most modern heavyweights, it looked bad on him. There was a lot of loose fat around his midsection.
Solis vs. Botha On May 30th
By Scott Gildfoid: In somewhat of a disappointing move, former 2004 Cuban Olympic heavyweight Gold Medalist Odlanier Solis (9-0, 6 KOs) will be reportedly fighting former heavyweight contender Francois Botha (45-4-2, 28 KOs) on May 30th in Spain. The fight would have meant much more say five years ago when Botha was still fighting regularly, but since that time the 39 year-old Botha has fought only one time and clearly isn’t the same fighter he was in his prime. This seems to be a case of Solis fighting a named fighter so as to increase the Cuban’s stature in the division.
Despite winning the Gold Medal in 2004, Solis has still done little as of yet, mostly fighting soft opposition. In his toughest fight to date against 6’4” Cisse Salif in March, Solis struggled badly, missing often and having problems with Salif’s size. To be sure, Solis, a smallish heavyweight at 6’0”, looked horrible in the bout and nothing like a future champion. If not for Salif’s lack of offense, this would have easily have been a loss for Solis, who looked like he didn’t belong in the same ring with Salif. I had expected that Solis would continue moving up against better opposition after the Salif fight, but he immediately went back to fighting C-class opponents in his next bout, a fight against a badly overmatched Georgian fighter Mamuka Jikurashvili, who Solis dropped three times with body shots en route to a 2nd round TKO in April.