Vitali Klitschko knocks out Odlanier Solis in 1st round of WBC Heavyweight Championship
A dramatic short-lived WBC heavyweight championship was witnessed between Cuban national Odlanier Solis and Ukraine’s Vitali Klitschko on Saturday 19th March, 2011 at the Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
Klitschko connected with a right to Solis' head that caused him to wobble and then fall. Solis got to his feet slowly but appeared to suffer a knee injury. The referee , Jose Guadalupe Garciath, ruled the fight as technical knockout, after Solis was unable
to continue.
It was very dramatic end of bout which lasted a little over three minutes, much to the disappointment of the 19,000 fans present in the arena.
Although Solis was suffering a cut to his shoulder, several critics had labeled him the favourite to win. Coming into the bout, the 30-year old, Solis (Height 6 feet, 1.5 inches) had scored 6 knock-out wins out of his last 7 competitive bouts.
Of the 18 fights he has now taken part in, Solis has won 17 bouts out of which 12 were wins by KO, and no draws.
Meanwhile, with the victory, the 39-year old Klitschko (Height 6 feet, 7.5 inches) has scored his consecutive 10th win. He has fought 44 fights in total out of which he has won 42 fights including 39 wins by KO and 2 losses.
According to German newspaper Die Welt Solis already had a problem with his right knee before the fight. According to the Cologne Arena spokesman Malte Mueller-Michaelis:
“His manager Jose Perez knew about the previous problem, but it was thought it would go away if there was enough training and the muscle stabilised the knee.”
A subsequent diagnosis by Cologne's University Hospital confirmed that Solis tore his cruciate ligament and damaged cartilage in the fall. More tests will be carried out on Sunday to determine whether he needs surgery.
Meanwhile a disappointed Solis stated: “It was unlucky but unfortunately these things happen. It will take a lot of time for me to get over this because I am not used to losing.”
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