On Saturday night, the heavyweights waters will become less murky once the result of the WBC championship bout between Vitali Klitschko and Odlanier Solis is finalized.
In late January it was announced that Polish heavyweight Tomasz Adamek had inked a deal to fight one of the Klitschko brothers in September at one of two newly built soccer stadiums in Poland.
The deal was structured so that if all three fighters involved won their interim bouts, the Klitschko brothers would decide which one of them would take on Adamek in September. If one of the brothers lost their bout, either Vitali against Solis or Wladimir against Dereck Chisora, Adamek would square of with the brother who won. Lastly, the Adamek fight would be a no-go if both brother’s lost their upcoming bouts or if Adamek lost his April 9 fight against Kevin McBride.
As if that wasn’t complicated enough, Wladimir pulled out of his fight against Chisora for the second time, citing muscle injuries. In addition, resumed negotiations with he and David Haye went so well this time around that all that’s left to be done is to sign the dotted line.
Fans will get to watch all of these scenarios play out over the next few months act, starting in three nights. It’s almost like a television mini-drama, with the first episode airing Saturday night in Cologne, Germany.
However, it seems silly and like a waste of time to break down each fight when there is no guarantee of certain fights taking place.
With regards to Saturday’s fight — I think a 16 seed vs. a number one seed is an appropriate analogy this time of year. In theory, a 16 seed could upset a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, but it hasn’t happened to date and it might never.
In that same sense, Odlanier Solis could be Vitali Klitschko, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Since coming back from retirement, the elder of the two Ukrainian champions has performed like a machine. It can be argued that the thirty-nine year old hasn’t lost a round since his comeback in 2008. Credit the way he methodically breaks down his opponents with effective jab-work and heavy lead hooks for his recent string of success.
Conversely, while Vitali has defended his crown with relative ease over the past few years, Solis has endured some tough bouts of recent just to earn this opportunity.
Almost three months ago today, Solis squared off against Ray Austin to see who would continue their quest towards a title.
The fight ended with Austin being disqualified in the tenth round. If that wasn’t the case there’s a chance Solis wouldn’t even be in Germany on Saturday night.
Although Solis controlled the later rounds against Austin, at the time of the disqualification, one judge had the bout even, one had Austin winning, and the third had Solis up a few points.
Nothing was guaranteed.
After the bout Austin praised Solis saying (as quoted by 15Rounds.com’s Johnny Schulz), “Solis will beat Klitschko, he is accurate and has great defense, if there is any doubt it would be his chin.”
No offense to Austin, but he’s a far cry from Vitali Klitschko.
After Saturday night — when presumably Klitschko thoroughly handles his Cuban counterpart — things will become a bit clearer. It should put us one step closer to Vitali-Adamek and Wladimir-Haye.
If 2011 does indeed shake out to provide fight fans with both David Haye vs. Wladimir Klitschko and Tomasz Adamek vs. Vitali Klitschko, then regardless of the outcomes, we know we got the best possible fights in the division — aside from Klitschko vs. Klitschko.
But, with that said, it is March, and March means madness. It also means upsets. However, at least with regards to Saturday’s clash, I’m taking chalk. I’d be shocked if Cinderella’s glass slipper fits on Solis’ foot.
