Solis – Botha moved to Miami

by James Slater: They were scheduled to box a while back, and now hot shot heavyweight prospect Odlanier Solis and former IBF heavyweight champ Frans Botha will meet this coming June 27th in Miami. Set to box on the same card as his fellow Olympic gold medallist Yuriorkis Gamboa, Solis will be looking to get Botha out of there in quick and impressive style..

Both Solis and Gamboa have very big things expected of them in the pro ranks. Since defecting from their native Cuba, the two unbeaten prospects have attracted much attention from the fans and the media alike. Now they share top billing, with Solis facing “The White Buffalo” and Gamboa facing Jose Rojas. It should be a pretty interesting fight night as a result.

Botha, now aged 39, has met some of the best names from the heavyweight division over the last twelve years or so. Turning pro way back in February of 1990, the South African captured the vacant IBF heavyweight crown in December of 1995 with a points win over Germany’s Axel Schulz – only to be stripped of the title later on for testing positive for an illegal substance. Botha had a reasonably good career nonetheless, and gave both Mike Tyson and Michael Moorer good and memorable fights before being stopped. Bouncing back after these KO losses, Botha eventually got himself another crack at the world title, this time against Britain’s Lennox Lewis.

Lewis scored one of his most impressive stoppages as he flattened Botha in just two rounds in a fight held in the U.K in July of 2000. Since then, Botha has only fought seven times, winning five, losing one and drawing another – his most notable fight being the losing one to Wladimir Klitschko for the WBO belt back in March of 2002 (TKO by 8). The 39-year-old’s record is still good, with Botha’s stats reading 45-4-2(28). The problem is, he has not been anywhere near active as of late. With just one fight in the last six years – a points win over Bob Mirovic in July of last year – Botha is bound to be suffering from ring-rust when he climbs through the ropes to face the 9-0(6) Solis in June.

Solis, aged 28, is a good heavyweight prospect, but he has made quite hard world of some of his fights so far. The oft-KO’d Julius Long, for example, took Solis the full eight rounds when they boxed in December of last year. Unless he’s completely shot, (which is a possibility) Botha figures to stick around a while when the two meet next month.

The fight will mark the first time Solis has boxed outside of Europe as a pro. As such, he will not want to disappoint. Look for Botha to earn his pay check, as he gives Solis a reasonable argument for a few rounds at least.