A lot of things, most of them negative, have already been said about Jorge Solis. Some even insinuating that the undefeated Mexican warrior is not a worthy challenger for Filipino ring superstar Manny Pacquiao.
But for Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, Solis is no pushover. Not the type of boxer that should be taken lightly even by high-profile fighters of Pacquiao’s caliber.
“People ask me, ‘why Jorge Solis?’ After all, he’s not the best known fighter round. What I say is that Solis, we’ve seen him fight, he’s fought for us…he’s undefeated. He’s a tremendous boxer, puncher,” said Arum in a report by fightnews.com.
Solis (32-0, 23KOs) is set to battle Pacquiao (43-3-2, 33KOs) for the WBC International super featherweight title in the main event of Top Rank’s “Blaze of Glory” championship card on April 14 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Arum reminded everyone that a few years back at the Alamodome, Pacquiao was a virtually unknown fighter when he fought against Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera, then revered as the “People’s Champion” in the featherweight division.
Pacquiao headed into the battlefield as the heavy underdog but when the smoke was cleared, the General Santos City ring gladiator came up with one of the most stunning upsets in boxing history.
Pacquiao mercilessly dismantled Barrera into 11th round destruction before a stunned pro-Mexican crowd on November 15, 2003 at the Alamodome. That became Pacman’s launching pad to phenomenal stardom in the boxing world.
“Just remember, a number years ago there was a Mexican legend fighting in San Antonio named Marco Antonio Barrera, and he fought a virtually unknown fighter named Manny Pacquiao and you all saw what happened,” said Arum.
“Let’s hope that, for Manny’s sake, that lightning strike’s once, and not twice, over the Alamodome,” the veteran promoter added.
With regards to Pacman’s political plans, Arum said he is among the very few who supported Pacquiao’s decision.
“Manny should be applauded because God knows he does well in boxing. He want’s to help the people. He believes that the people are fed up with politicians, with nonsense promises, that they want somebody they can rely on, someone that they can relate to,” said Arum.
The 28-year-old Pacquiao has openly declared his plan to challenge incumbent Darlene Antonino-Custodio for a congressional seat in the lone district of South Cotabato.
