Former Cuban amateur standout Odlanier Solis (17-1) is set to return to action on October 14th in Germany. On March 19th ‘La Sombra“ slipped at the end of a competitive first round against WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko and suffered various knee injuries forcing him to undergo three surgeries in March and April. Now the 31-year-old Olympic gold medalist and four-time world amateur champion is scheduled to fight for the vacant IBF intercontinental championship against Varol Vekiloglu from Berlin. Vekiloglu (18-2-1) had won the International Boxing Federation (IBF) East/West European title in the light heavyweight division and moved up to heavyweight in June.
“Solis proved against Vitali that he is one of very few fighters in the world who can actually beat him“, states promoter Ahmet Oner. „If his knee hadn’t given in he would have won that fight. But anyways, we are happy that everything looks as if he will be fine and able to return in October. After I heard the diagnosis I thought this injury might end his career but his knee is developing very well and – most importantly – Odlanier wants to come back as soon as possible. He is working very hard for his second chance. This fight can hopefully get him back on track and in line for another title shot.“
Adds Odlanier Solis, “I can’t wait to get back into the ring. Until I fought Vitali I was merely a mercenary soldier. Now that I know how easy it is to become champion of the world this is what I want and what I’m working and living for.“
The deal for the fight was made between Oner and Vekiloglu’s trainer and manager Robert Rolle who had secured the challenger status for the IBF intercontinental title at the IBF Convention back in May before even thinking about a possible opponent. „Varol wanted the big fights so now he has to prove himself in a very big fight“, said Rolle. „Actually it doesn’t get much bigger than this. Solis looked very well against Vitali. He is one of the best heavyweight contenders out there. His amateur merits speak for themself. But then again it is always hard to come back after an injury layoff. We are definitely up for the challenge and looking forward to the fight.“
Life’s hardships push Chattelle to the top
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 9, 2011) – Growing up in a two-bedroom apartment with three brothers, Todd Chattelle had no choice but to learn how to defend himself at an early age.
“The crap just rolled downhill,” Chattelle said. “The biggest one would beat on the next one, and then that one would beat on the next one, and so on and so forth. Then our youngest brother, Josh, grew up and beat on all of us!”
Nearly two decades later, “The Hulk” is still dishing out punishment, except now he gets paid to use his fists. As only the third professional cage fighter signed to Jimmy Burchfield’s roster at Classic Entertainment & Sports – joining the late Doug Bolanes Jr. and Boston native Alex Karalexis – Chattelle, 32, will return to the cage Friday, Sept. 9, 2011 when he faces Elias Rivera on the undercard of “Road To Glory” at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I.
Rivera (5-6, 1 KO), who upholsters furniture for a living and also founded the Team Dog Pound Full Contact Team gym in Meriden, Conn., began training in Jeet Kune Do when he was 10 years old and has more than 30 years of experience in mixed martial arts. His professional resume includes a victory over Scott Rehm – also fighting Sept. 9 – and a loss 10 years ago to Jorge Rivera, who starred in Saturday’s “Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) 133” Pay-Per-View event at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
“Not to take anything away from any other fighter, but experience alone speaks volumes,” Rivera said. “I’ll usually take on anyone. I don’t care who it is. I’m looking forward to this one.”
“We’ll see,” Chattelle countered. “He has a lot of heart and he’ll go right at you. He’s fought a couple of big-name guys, so he has confidence and experience. I’ll get in there, train hard, and treat him like a little kid. He’ll have to earn it.”
Chattelle’s rugged exterior and abrasive – albeit, playful – words are a byproduct of his upbringing in the working-class city of Pawtucket, R.I., merely a stone’s throw from downtown Providence. He grew up with six brothers (Ryan, Jay, Jonas, Josh, Justin and Scott) and one sister (Renee), though only three of his brothers lived in the same apartment with he and his mother, who raised the four boys on her own.
Undeterred by his past, Chattelle admits he’s been stabbed, shot at twice and undergone reconstructive surgery after getting hit in the face with a crowbar, but he’s also thankful for the time he spent with his aunt, who showed him a different side of life.
“She was middle class,” Chattelle said. “She had a husband, a job – then I’d go home to my single mother with five crazy brothers. I guess I was lucky. Going through so much, I feel like I can deal with more stuff than most people can.”
Chattelle’s ability to absorb pain is evident each time he steps inside the cage. On April 8th, he outlasted Jeff Nader in a split-decision win – the first time he had ever gone the distance in a victory – and improved his record to 8-6 despite getting hit in the face with a clean right hand in the closing seconds that left him bloodied and bruised.
“Fearless” would be an appropriate description for Chattelle’s style; the way he sees it, there’s nothing anybody inside the cage can do to him that others haven’t done already. He earned his first seven victories by knockout before the split decision against Nader.
“The only thing I fear,” Chattelle said, “is God and failure. I hate failing, so I just go hard.”
Outside the arena, Chattelle works more than 40 hours a week as a concrete finisher for the Local 40 cement mason union of Rhode Island to support his 9-year-old son, T.J., and his 13-year-old daughter, Kalyn, who enters high school next year. Rest assured, “The Hulk” has already come up with a plan to ward off would-be suitors.
“I’m going to be posting up my fight pictures in her high school,” Chattelle laughed.
“I use [my kids] as my motivation,” he continued. “I want to make enough money to one day put them through college. That gives me the drive to not give up no matter what. Right now, it’s hard. Working 40, 50 hours a week and then training … I know can be great – or really good – if I can figure out a way to make money and train, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to do it if I have to work those hours and continue training.
“The fighting isn’t the problem – it’s the training that’s hard … but anything is possible.”
Chattelle never though he’d get this far nine years ago when he sat in the audience at a UFC event in Connecticut thinking out loud, “Would you do this?” Five years later, he made his professional debut in a loss to Dennis Olson and, despite several setbacks along the way, is now on the cusp of a major opportunity following back-to-back wins against Nader and Woody Weatherby (Feb. 25th).
“I’ve fought in M-1 Global [in a loss to Mike Guerin in 2010], been featured in magazines and now I’m on a billboard – it’s crazy!” Chattelle said. “Anything in life is possible. This might be my last run. I feel I’ve got another four or five years left in me to see how far I can really make it in this sport.
“I’d really like to get one submission before my career is over,” he added with a laugh. “Maybe an arm triangle or an arm bar.”
The main event of “Road To Glory” features light heavyweight Greg Rebello (12-3, 6 KOs) of Providence, R.I., facing rising star Cody Lightfoot (6-1, 4 KOs) of Somersworth, N.H. The undercard includes lightweight Pete Jeffrey (4-4, 2 KOs) of Smithfield, R.I., facing John Ortolani (5-3, 4 KOs) of Billerica, Mass.; Rehm (5-5, 5 KOs), fighting out of Brookline, Mass., against light heavyweight Steve Skrzat (4-4, 4 KOs) of Burrillville, R.I.; lightweight Brendan Rooney (1-0) of Milford, Conn., facing newcomer John DeRusha of South Shore Sport Fighting in Rockland, Mass.; and Dinis Paiva Jr. (1-0, 1 KO) of Providence taking on undefeated lightweight Jimmy Collins (3-0) of Waltham, Mass. Bantamweight Chris Conception of the Dragon’s Lair in Framingham, Mass., will make his professional debut against Chris Cole (2-1) of America’s Best Defense in North Attleboro, Mass.; and Wilfredo Santiago Jr. (2-1, 2 KOs) of Lawrence, Mass., will square off against undefeated middleweight Francisco Ferreira (2-0, 1 KO) of North Providence, R.I. John Manley (6-1) of Adams, Mass., will also be on the undercard in a welterweight bout.
Tickets for “Road To Glory” are $35.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Players Club booth at Twin River, or through any TicketMaster location. Doors open 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.
(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “Road To Glory.” Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and must enter through the West entrance.)
Eade and Coveney ready for Irish title rumble at The Royal
Henry Coyle’s bid to lift the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Light Middleweight title against Italy’s Elio Cotena headlines a night of championship boxing at the Royal Theatre, Castlebar on Friday but he won’t be the only Mayo man looking to wrap a belt around his waist on the night.
Westport’s Finbarr “The Rock” Eade is hoping that he will be crowned Irish Super Featherweight Champion when he takes on London based southpaw Mickey Coveney for the vacant title. It’s a massive step up for Eade in just his seventh professional fight as he takes on the seasoned Coveney but the unbeaten Mayo man is determined to make the most of the opportunity.
“I was out of the sport for 12 years from my last fight as an amateur to my first fight as a pro in 2009,” explained Eade. “People told me I was mad to come back and have a go at the pro ranks but it’s been so far so good and I want to go as far as I can with it. People have been saying to me, isn’t it great you’re getting to fight for the Irish title but it’s about winning the Irish title for me, not just fighting for it. I don’t want to sound cocky but I want to go further if possible and I’m very confident about this fight.”
For Coveney it will be his second Irish title bid having failed in a brave attempt for Patrick Hyland’s Featherweight belt in Dublin last year and he’s determined that he will not be returning home empty handed this time around.
“I’m coming to win, that’s all thats on my mind,” said Coveney who qualifies for an Irish title courtesy of his father who was born in Cork. “I’ve watched a bit of Eade in action and he looks alright but I’ve picked up on little things. He makes some amateurish mistakes and I can use my experience to take advantage of those. I think on the night you are going to see the difference between a real pro in there and a guy still learning his trade.”
Coveney though is adamant that he won’t be taking anything for granted. “I’m sure Finbarr will be well up for it. He’ll be dangerous early on because he will have all the crowd behind him and it’s practically a hometown fight for him. I’m very confident though and going into the lions den holds no fear for me. I feel like I’m at the top of my game right now. I’m absolutely buzzing in the gym and winning the Irish title would mean so much to me. I felt like I was so close last time but I switched off in that seventh round and got hit with a good shot.”
Eade says he has taken inspiration from Coveney’s previous Irish title bid in preparations for Friday’s bout. “I’ve been based up in Dublin for this fight sparring with the Hyland brothers and working with Paddy Hyland Snr fand obviously they know all about Coveney from Patrick’s win over him last year. I was actually at that fight and I remember thinking at the time that he would be a good fight for me down the road and here we are and it’s great that the Irish title is on the line as well.
“My preparation for this fight has been the best of my career, I only took a week out after my last fight in June and then it was straight back in the gym and it’s been pretty much full on since then. I’ve been sparring Patrick and Paul and they have given me excellent work. I sparred 8 rounds with Patrick the other day and I could easily have done the 10 so there’s no worries on that front.”
However Coveney doesn’t believe that linking up with the Hyland camp will make any difference to the result on Friday night. “I presume he thinks that Patrick’s father knows how to beat me but I’ll be a much stronger fighter at the 9 stone 4 Super Featherweight limit. I watched the Hyland fight back afterwards and I boxed ok, I was fast and accurate but there was no power in my punches because I had drained myself to make 9 stone. Make no mistake though on Friday night I’ll be buzzing, I feel so fit and strong and super feather and I’m taking that belt home this time.”
Both Patrick and Paul Hyland are also in action on Friday night’s card with Patrick featuring in the first ever bout to be broadcast live on TG4 when he takes on Italy’s former European title challenger, Fabrizio Trotta. Younger brother Paul (also a former European title challenger) also features as he takes on two weight Welsh Champion, Dai Davies.
An eagerly awaited all Mayo clash on the card features former Irish Champion John Waldron taking on Michael Sweeney in an Irish Light Heavyweight title eliminator.
Another all – Irish clash rounds out the card with Roscommon’s unbeaten Darren Cruise taking on Leeds based Belfast southpaw Lee Murtagh.
Friday night’s boxing is live and exclusive on TG4 with coverage of Dornalaíocht Beo starting at 9:30pm and also streamed live, worldwide over the internet at www.tg4.tv.
Tickets for the August 12th event priced from €30, €40, €70 and €100 are on sale from the Royal Theatre Box Office on 0818 719 300, Ticketmaster.ie / 0818 719300 and the boxers on the bill.