DUE to space constraints, I was unable to tackle the heavyweight fight between Vitali Klitschko (42-2, 39KOs) and Odlanier Solis (17-1, 12 KOs) last week. As it turned out, the fight was hardly worth the mention after all, as Solis lost in the very first round after injuring his knee.
There was a punch from Klitschko that preceded the injury so it was legitimately ruled a KO victory in favor of Dr. Ironfist.
GRANT-McCLINE. That fight brought back memories of another heavyweight snafu not too long ago between leviathans Michael Grant and Jameel McCline.
?Big Time? connected with the very first punch he threw, a half- hearted hook not thrown with too much torque which crashed on Grant?s jaw.
The latter fell back at a weird angle, with all his weight crashing down on his right ankle.
He did manage to get up but after a few flurries from his rampaging opponent, he cried ankle, er? uncle.
DISPARITY. Who is Odlanier Solis , by the way? I was about to write him off as another no-hoper before Last Rounder Paul Clarin came to the rescue and shared some info that ?La Sombra?? has an impressive amateur background, having beaten both Sultan Ibragamov and David Haye back in the amateurs.
But Paul wisely acknowledged that Solis hasn?t fought anyone in the heavyweight division quite like Klitschko, and we can of course invoke the result as damning evidence of such disparity.
HEAVY WAIT. In the meantime, with the way the Klitschko brothers have turned the heavyweight division into the barren, desolate landscape it now is, the search goes on for the ?next great black hope?.
Doesn?t that sound weird? Two decades ago they were dubbing Gerry Cooney ?the great white hope? with the way the African American boxers were dominating the division. Will David Haye be it? I can?t ?weight? to find out.
PREMATURE JUDGMENT. Reacting to my column Premature Judgment (3/22/11), Paul also shares some insights on the issue of whether or not Donaire should have stayed with
Top Rank
Paul agrees with my take on the matter and offers the following points for consideration:
1. Nonito has no plan to jump early to 126 pounds and challenge Yuriorkis Gamboa or Juan Manuel Lopez for a pay per view match-up. In other words, there are no marquee opponents at bantamweight in the Top Rank stable after he pulverized Fernando Montiel in the second round.
2. Fighting under the ?Top Rank? banner with no serious opponents cannot generate millions for him. This is a purely business decision probably anchored by his wife.
3. Popularity-wise, Manny Pacquiao has been the main menu in boxing business for a while, and since they are both Top Rank horses, the Donaires do not want to be overshadowed by Pac.
4. We do not know yet the attractive offer by GBP for Donaire, just like they did with Pacquiao, so we will check this issue later on. The bottom line is money.
Thanks for your thoughts, Paul. Ineluctably, it all shuttles down to what they believe is best for Donaire?s career and money was a obviously a seminal consideration.
Loyalty? That?s a cheap commodity in today?s high-priced world of professional sports.
More so in boxing where the window of your physical prime is even more limited. Not anybody can be like Bernard Hopkins who can fight well into his forties.
Everybody has a right to determine and carve his own path. As I said, only time will tell whether or not Golden Boy Promotions is a better fit. Therefore, let it soak in and do its thing before we make any judgments.
LAST ROUND. It?s on CIT?s most promising BSCE graduate, Joleovel N. Reyes. Cheers!
