In a recent interview with the San Antonio Express-News , Top Rank head Bob Arum described why he picked Mexican fighter Jorge Solis as the opponent for Manny Pacquiao on April 14 card at the Alamodome.
Arum told the paper that a lot of people were impressed by Solis’ performances on various Top Rank undercards that were held in Las Vegas. He described him as combination of Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez.
“We’ve had him fight for us on several Las Vegas cards and he’s wowed everybody. He reminds us of a combination of (Marco Antonio) Barrera and (Juan Manuel) M?rquez. He’s that good. He moves well and punches off his movement with very accurate punches. He also takes a tremendous punch and is just the kind of guy who can give Pacquiao fits,” Arum said. “Plus, he has the DNA. His brother (Ulises), is a world champion. We felt that even if he ended up losing, it would enhance his career. He’d prove that he’s a world-class fighter.
Later in the interview, Arum says that Pacquiao reminds him most of hall-of-famer Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor, a junior welterweight great that had dynamite in both hands.
“The fighter he reminds me of most is one who never got his just due, but was one of the best fighters of the golden age of the 1970s and ’80s, and that’s Aaron Pryor. He was a much bigger fighter than Manny. But like Pryor, Manny’s boxing ability surprises you and the intensity, the number of punches and different angles he throws punches from is a lot like Pryor” Arum said.
