Articles

Maybe: The Many Ways Solis Can Beat Klitschko

Published

14 years ago

March 19, 2011

ADA_7479 SETTING THE ODDS – The weigh-in, before an overflow crowd at a large sporting goods franchise, is over. Based on how the fighters looked friday afternoon, the final odds can be set For the Vitali Klitschko – Odlanier Solis bout.

A general global average set Klitschko at well over an approximate 6 – 1 favorite, but the fight might be much harder to call than that.

Somewhat surprisingly, especially considering the data from each man's professional resume, Solis, 17-0 (12), a debutant to the big boy bonanza spotlight, has a considerable number of prognostic possibilities pointing to a huge upset victory over proven commodity Klitschko, 41-2 (38).

While not appearing much less beefy than usual, Solis did look a wee bit leaner and more toned. His upper body area looked like he had done plenty of training.

Maybe Solis' Olympic gold medal still counts for quite a bit.

Maybe instead of a “puncher's chance”, Solis' “boxer's chance” will indeed pay off.

Maybe Solis will be able to keep on his toes and keep making Klitschko miss as opposed to previous fights when Klitschko eventually found the range after making adjustments behind standard overhand rights or wide uppercuts.

Maybe Solis' perceived speed will nullify Klitschko's small 80-79 inch reach advantage, and Solis will be able to get in and get back beyond range without paying a price.

Maybe the 6'1 Solis will stay inside 6'7 1/2″ Klitschko and tie the taller man into a nullified knot.

Or, maybe the usually precise German scale was wrong and Klitschko actually weighed three hundred forty nine, not the official 249 1/2. Solis was really 227 not 247.

Maybe the law of punching probability catches up to “Dr. Ironfist”. Since he's probably won virtually every round he's fought since returning in October 2008 that gives him around 60 frames in a row. The law of averages has Solis in just the right place at the right time.

There's always a chance Klitschko actually punched himself out against Briggs and gets old immediately versus reportedly 30 year old Solis, who mysteriously sheds 10 pounds after the weigh-in and suddenly looks ten years younger. The 39 year old Klitschko finally looks more his own age, sluggish even, after recent impressively active appearances.

Maybe Klitschko is overconfident and quaffed a few too many of the locally brewed Kolsch beers Cologne is known for.

Maybe the sweaty, smooth-skinned scenery was a little too tempting at one of the area's popular wellness complexes, where there are many nude, co-ed spa zones. Klitschko comes into the contest at a near dehydrated state and fades quickly.

Maybe the WBC will designate the match for the “tin man tag team title” and allow all the opponents since Klitschko's comeback, Briggs, Sosnowski, Johnson, Arreola, Gomez and Peter to alternate rounds with Solis.

Maybe, despite the odds, the biblical Three Wise Men reportedly entombed in the awesome Koln Cathedral one impressive bridge away from the fight's Lanxess Arena location rise up, backstroke across the Rhine, and whisper a perfect strategy into Solis' ear.

Maybe a snowball in Hades recombusts into a sun like centered alternative universe. A realm is created where even a relatively untested contender with questionable conditioning upsets an established champion who has dominated the best “available opponents” in the division.

Maybe the old folk fable “every blind pig gets an ear of corn sometime” proves true again.

Maybe Solis' 2010 wins against Ray Austin and Carl Drumond counted for more than we thought. Same goes for his earliest pro tutorials against foils like Oleksiy Mazykin and Cisse Salif.

Maybe Solis' 2009 second round blastout of Monte Barrett was actually the most accurate indicator of Solis's true form and power.

Maybe Solis' sloppy waltz against Chauncey Welliver on the Vitali – Sam Peter undercard was really a very well planned ruse.

Perhaps, but probably not.

Klitschko is a solid 3-1 favorite in the TSS sportsbook. Solis is a respectable, if still unknown proposition.

You can find many other possible reasons Solis might win, but none are very likely.

Comment on this article

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Phil Woolever

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Articles

Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Articles

2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!