Vitali Klitschko vs. Odlanier Solís

Vitali Klitschko vs. Odlanier Solis was a professional boxing match contested on 19 March 2011, for the WBC heavyweight championship.[1] It took place at Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.[2]

Vitali Klitschko vs. Odlanier Solis
Date19 March 2011
VenueLanxess Arena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Title(s) on the lineWBC Heavyweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Ukraine Vitali Klitschko Cuba Odlanier Solis
Nickname "Dr. Ironfist" "La Sombra"
Hometown Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine Havana, La Habana Province, Cuba
Purse $15,000,000 $1,800,000
Pre-fight record 41–2 (38 KO) 17–0 (12 KO)
Age 39 years, 8 months 30 years, 11 months
Height 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) 6 ft 1+12 in (187 cm)
Weight 249+12 lb (113 kg) 247 lb (112 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBC
Heavyweight Champion
The Ring
No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
WBC
No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
The Ring
No. 10 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Klitschko defeated Solis by 1st round KO

Background

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Odlanier Solis became the mandatory heavyweight challenger for the WBC heavyweight title, after a 10-round DQ win against Ray Austin on 17 December 2010.[3][4][5] The negotiations started out difficult. In the beginning, Odlanier Solis started out by demanding €1.5 million for the fight.[6] On 11 January 2011, it was officially confirmed that the fight between Vitali Klitschko and Odlanier Solis was going to take place in Cologne, Germany on 19 March.[2]

It was reported that Odlanier Solis earned $1.8 million for the fight (which at the time was €1.4 million). Vitali earned $15 million.[7]

The first press conference of the fight was officially held in Cologne and both fighters and managers attended the press conference.[8] At the press conference, neither fighter or promoter etc. spoke English, as there was no need to. Odlanier Solis does not speak English and Vitali Klitschko had no need to as the press conference and fight is in Germany.

There had been some trash talk up to the fight. Odlanier Solis has accused Vitali Klitschko for spreading rumors about him, that he is lazy, because of how he trains. Solis said that he is in perfect shape and ready to defeat Klitschko.[9] Vitali Klitschko on the other hand said that he will get rid of Solis from the boxing world, after the challenger stated several times that he will defeat Klitschko, end his reign and send him to retirement.[10][11] Klitschko had earlier said that he had fought some strong opponents, but never an Olympic gold medalist (which was inaccurate as he faced Lennox Lewis, who was an Olympic Gold Medalist). He also said that he expected a tough and close fight against a young and talented fighter. Solis' manager Ahmet Öner had also accused Vitali Klitschko for avoiding this fight for a long time.[12]

The second press conference was held on March 14 in Cologne. The press conference was quiet and there were no trash talk at the conference, although they both promised a knockout.[13]

Before the fight, there was also a public work-out held on 16 March at the Mercedes-Benz Center in Cologne.[14]

Ticket sales for the fight started on January 26 on www.eventim.de. The prices for the fight started at 25. The official weigh-in for the fight took place in Cologne, Germany, on 18 March. It took place at Karstadt Sport Breite Straße. The official weight for the two fighters was as follows: Vitali Klitschko weighed in at 249.5 lbs., while Odlanier Solis weighed in at 247 lbs.[15]

The supervisor for the fight was Charles Giles. The commissioner for the fight was the Bund Deutscher Berufsboxer and Tom Loeffler (K2 Promotions) was the promoter.[15]

The fight

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Vitali Klitschko defeated Odlanier Solis in the first round. Solis went down near the end of the opening round, getting hit by a right hook to the temple. He immediately began grabbing his right knee upon attempting to get to his feet. He was able to make it to his feet. At that, the referee waved an end to the bout.[16]

Aftermath

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After the fight, Solis was brought to Cologne's University Hospital, where it was confirmed that Solis suffered from a legitimate and serious knee injury. It was known that Solis had torn his cruciate ligament and damaged cartilage in the fall.[17][18]

Solis promoter Ahmet Öner yelled and was very angry and frustrated after the fight. He showed up at the post-fight press conference, but only to give his opinion about Vitali Klitschko's manager, Bernard Bönte, whom he yelled and screamed at. Vitali Klitschko retained his WBC heavyweight title against Tomasz Adamek on 10 September in Poland, winning by TKO in the 10th round.

Odlanier Solis was set to make his comeback on November 25, 2011 in Trabzon, Turkey, but due to issues he was not able to leave the United States and his fight was taken off the card.[19]

Undercard

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Confirmed bouts:[20]

International broadcasting

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In Germany, the fight was broadcast live and exclusively on RTL Television.

Country Broadcaster HD (High Definition)
  Australia Main Event
  Brazil ESPN Brasil
  Canada Super Channel Fights Super Channel HD 1
  Croatia Nova TV
  Denmark TV 2 Sport TV 2 Sport HD
  France Orange Sport
  Germany RTL RTL HD
  Hungary Digi Sport
  Israel Sport 2
  Mexico TV Azteca
  Philippines TV5/IBC/Solar Sports
  Poland TVP1 & TVP Sport
  Romania Sport.ro
  Russia REN TV
  Sweden TV10
   Switzerland RTL RTL HD
  Turkey FOX Turkey
  Ukraine Inter
  United Kingdom Sky Sports 1 Sky Sports HD1
  United States Epix Epix HD

References

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  1. ^ "Vitali Klitschko vs. Odlanier Solis". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Photos: Vitali Klitschko, Odlanier Solis Face To Face - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Odlanier Solis wins on Ray Austin's 10th-round disqualification - ESPN". ESPN. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Odlanier Solis Beats Austin By DQ, a Very Strange Ending - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  5. ^ "Odlanier Solis earns title shot vs. Vitali Klitschko - SI.com - Boxing". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 17 December 2010. Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  6. ^ "Klitschko-Solis Update: Odlanier Wants 1.5 Million Euros! - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Klitschko-Solis Reportedly Done, March 19 in Cologne - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 9 January 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  8. ^ Fan, Klitschko (26 January 2011). "Klitschko Solis Press Conference". Klitschkoblog.com. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  9. ^ "Odlanier Solis: Vitai Spreads Rumors That I'm Lazy - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  10. ^ "Vitali Klitschko: I'll Rid The World of Odlanier Solis - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  11. ^ "Odlanier Solis Confident: I'll End Vitali Klitschko's Reign - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 30 November 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  12. ^ "News - Vitali Klitschko Respects Solis challenge". Max Boxing. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  13. ^ "Klitschko". Facebook. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  14. ^ "Photos: Klitschko, Solis Go Face To Face at Final Presser - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 14 March 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  15. ^ a b "BoxRec Boxing Records". Boxrec.com. 19 March 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  16. ^ "Vitali Klitschko vs. Odlanier Solis - Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia". Boxrec.com. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  17. ^ Christ, Scott (20 March 2011). "Odlanier Solis Update: Doctors Confirm Serious Knee Injury". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  18. ^ "Odlanier Solis' knee torn up after defeat vs. Vitali Klitschko - ESPN". ESPN. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  19. ^ "Odlanier Solis Comeback Delayed Again, Legal Issues - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  20. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Vitali Klitschko's bouts
19 March 2011
Succeeded by
Preceded by Odlanier Solis's bouts
19 March 2011
Succeeded by