Klitschko-Solis Set For March – “La Sombra” Promises To Take Vitali’s Belt!

By James Slater: While just recently everyone has been talking about and hoping to see a Wladimir Klitschko-David Haye clash, Wladimir’s big brother Vitali has been working on his own next fight. And while the WBC heavyweight king going up against unbeaten Odlanier Solis (set for Cologne, March 19th) is not a fight that has captured the imagination of the public the same way Klitschko-Haye did (past tense, won’t ever happen now?), the March clash could be a surprisingly good battle.

It seems a good number of fans have failed to warm to the unbeaten Cuban who won all manner of amateur awards including an Olympic gold medal; primarily due to his weight. Fans everywhere have criticised the 30-year-old with the 17-0(13) pro record for the way he has entered the ring as high as the low 270s. Now, against the trim and solid Klitschko, these same fans see only one result: yet another Klitschko win.

But if we look past Solis’ physical appearance and judge him solely on his ring performances and overall talent, we can see he is both dangerous and powerful. Klitschko, as he always does, has promised not to underestimate Solis, while “La Sombra” has promised that he will beat Vitali and leave Cologne with his WBC belt.

Klitschko is naturally looked at as the favourite to win, but a case can definitely be made for Solis being the best fighter the 39-year-old has faced since Lennox Lewis. Soils certainly thinks so, and in a recent interview with this writer, he said that “after I beat the hell out of Vitali, everyone will be able to beat him!”

Solis believes he will end the dominant reign of Vitali, and that “Dr. Iron Fist” will never be able to recover from the loss. Without a doubt, Solis is the most confident-sounding challenger Klitschko will have faced since his 2008 ring return. Of course, Sam Peter, Juan Carlos Gomez, Chris Arreola, Kevin Johnson Albert Sosnowski and Shannon Briggs also talked a great fight ahead of squaring off with Vitali, but Solis has neither the wear and tear Peter, Gomez and Briggs had, and he has faster hands and a better jab than both Sosnowski and Arreola. And Solis, with his mental makeup, is sure to avoid fighting scared the way Johnson did.

We have yet to see how the Cuban defector can take a huge shot, but he does seem to have all the other tools a fighter needs to at least test Vitali. Take Solis’ jab and reach for example; at 79,” the challenger will not perhaps have the problems other fighters have had when it comes to reaching Vitali’s chin. No, Solis is no giant at 6.1.5,” but he has that reach. And, at around 260, Solis feels he will not be bullied by Klitschko.

If, and it’s a big if, Solis can come out fast, set a pace AND back Klitschko up, March’s fight will become extremely interesting. Solis feels he can do it, and he has the supreme confidence an unbeaten fighter carries.

Will Solis’ youth, freshness, self belief, amateur pedigree and overall talent see to it that he upsets the odds and Klitschko on March 19th? At the very least, I think “La Sombra” will push “Dr Iron Fist” harder than any of the previous five challengers of his second reign. Certainly, Vitali-Solis is a far better fight than Wladimir-Derek Chisora. We may get a far better than expected rumble in Cologne!