by Geoffrey Ciani – When it was first announced that Epix would be airing the WBC heavyweight title fight between champion Vitali Klitschko and challenger Odlanier Solis, American boxing fans had reason to celebrate. After all, heavyweight title fights are rarely aired on US television these days. For whatever reason, HBO and Showtime have both decided to abandon the heavyweight scene, which is a bit odd considering that two of the best heavyweights in the world are brothers who usually win by knockout and have an interesting back story. Enter Epix.
Epix seemed to bring exactly what American boxing fans have been missing—televised heavyweight title fights. It seemed like a win-win situation with a potentially huge upside if the fight was a success. This could generate buzz and give a much needed shot of adrenaline into the heavyweight scene. It might help boxing as a whole as its popularity has been historically been connected with the state of the heavyweight division. Unfortunately, “Dr. Ironfist” (now 42-2 with 39 wins coming by way of knockout) made quick work of Solis (now 17-1) stopping him at the end of the first round in a somewhat anti-climactic manner.
The shame of all this is it looked like a good feeling out round that had the potential to be an interesting scrap. During the introductions, Solis appeared relaxed and confident. Early in the first round, Solis was moving around as Klitschko lumbered after him pawing with his jab and pressing forward. For the most part, Solis avoided or blocked most of Klitschko’s incoming fire and even managed to land a few sneaky right hands. Solis looked like he came to fight and he actually appeared to have a style which may have given Klitschko trouble.
At the end of the first round, Klitschko landed a quick right hand on the temple of Solis which shook him. It was a sharp punch. Solis initially seemed a bit off-balance, and as he stumbled from the force of the punch in a somewhat delayed reaction, his left leg seemed to slip forward underneath him. In order to counter-balance this, Solis put pressure on his right leg and he appeared to hurt his knee in the process. It was a legitimate knockout victory for Klitschko, as the injury was caused by a punch. It was, however, unfortunate that Solis was injured in the process because this fight left fans wanting more.
Even more unfortunately, the boxing debut for Epix was an overall disappointment—even though it was through no fault of their own, nor was it the fault of the defending WBC champion Vitali Klitschko who was just doing his job. It was a disappointing win, but he has now won seven in a row since returning from a four year retirement when he beat Sam Peter to recapture the championship. Even though things did not go according to plan for Epix and even though they had some minor technical difficulties, I think they did a good job and I applaud them for bringing heavyweight championship boxing back to US TV. I hope they continue broadcasting bouts in the future and do not let this one instance deter them. American boxing fans need access to fights. They are not going to care about the heavyweight division if they never get the opportunity to see heavyweight champions. Epix deserves credit for at least taking a first step in trying to remedy this situation.
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