HBO and Showtime were smart to pass on this stinker. WBC heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko showed up in shape and ready to fight. Undefeated 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist Odlanier Solis showed up fat ... and perhaps hiding a leg injury. The sellout crowd of 19,000 in Cologne, Germany got three uneventful minutes for their money. Near the end of round one, Klitschko landed a glancing right high on the head of Solis, who went down awkwardly. Solis struggled to his feet but was very unsteady as both legs seemed to buckle. Just like that, the fight was over. Some will say Solis took a dive, but it didn't seem that way as he was competitive during the first round and did not appear to be intimidated by Klitschko. It's more likely that he either came into the fight with a leg injury or he injured himself when he was knocked down. All the pre-fight press talked about what great shape Solis was in. What a joke! Granted, at 247, he was near the lowest weight of his professional career ... but he wasn't in shape. One look at his midsection made that quite obvious. And that lack of conditioning could explain why his knee gave out on him. EpixHD, a new online streaming service, offered the fight online. Fight fans are always appreciative of new ways to watch non-televised bouts. The service cut out on me several times while trying to watch the fight, but they may get that straightened out in the future ... if they don't elect to scrap boxing coverage altogether after the Klitschko-Solis debacle.
Vitali is a great and very modest guy. We can hear on his after match interview. He´s saying sorry for take KO in first run, thats incredible. I really like him.
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Vitali is the best out there right now. Personally I don't think the Klitschko brothers get enough credit. They are very good fighters.