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By Jake Donovan - On the one hand, a lesson that could’ve been learned by Yuriorkis Gamboa in watching his countryman try and fail at the sport’s top level last weekend, it’s that patience is a virtue.
On the other hand, perhaps the lesson to have been learned by Odlanier Solis heading into his bout with Vitali Klitschko is that he’s no Yuriorks Gamboa.
The pair of Olympic Gold medalists and Cuban defectors has been matched at a brisk pace from the moment they turned pro nearly four years ago. Neither fighter has ever faced an opponent with a losing record. Nor have they ever been matched against anyone with less pro experience.
But when it came time to produce at the title level, one has delivered while the other has yet to make it out of the first round.
In fairness, Gamboa has yet to face the featherweight equivalent of Vitali Klitschko.
Then again, Solis managed to make it to the title level without even having to face the heavyweight equivalent of anyone Gamboa has faced in his past several fights.
Time will tell if Solis can rebound from last weekend’s debacle. His conditioning suggested that he took the fight seriously, weighing in at a near career low 246.9 lb. He appeared to give a good account of himself before being buzzed by a head shot towards the end of the round. The attempt to regain his balance was a failed effort, as he landed the wrong way on his leg and collapsed to the canvas in pain, which provided an anticlimactic ending to a fight that never had a chance to get going.
What remains in question is just how well Solis can perform at the contender level while waiting to get back in line. While matched aggressively early on, his competition leveled off once he was moved in position to fight for the title.
His toughest opponent prior to last weekend was Ray Austin, a fight in which Solis was in poor condition and struggled mightily before coming on late and eventually winning by disqualification. [Click Here To Read More]
On the other hand, perhaps the lesson to have been learned by Odlanier Solis heading into his bout with Vitali Klitschko is that he’s no Yuriorks Gamboa.
The pair of Olympic Gold medalists and Cuban defectors has been matched at a brisk pace from the moment they turned pro nearly four years ago. Neither fighter has ever faced an opponent with a losing record. Nor have they ever been matched against anyone with less pro experience.
But when it came time to produce at the title level, one has delivered while the other has yet to make it out of the first round.
In fairness, Gamboa has yet to face the featherweight equivalent of Vitali Klitschko.
Then again, Solis managed to make it to the title level without even having to face the heavyweight equivalent of anyone Gamboa has faced in his past several fights.
Time will tell if Solis can rebound from last weekend’s debacle. His conditioning suggested that he took the fight seriously, weighing in at a near career low 246.9 lb. He appeared to give a good account of himself before being buzzed by a head shot towards the end of the round. The attempt to regain his balance was a failed effort, as he landed the wrong way on his leg and collapsed to the canvas in pain, which provided an anticlimactic ending to a fight that never had a chance to get going.
What remains in question is just how well Solis can perform at the contender level while waiting to get back in line. While matched aggressively early on, his competition leveled off once he was moved in position to fight for the title.
His toughest opponent prior to last weekend was Ray Austin, a fight in which Solis was in poor condition and struggled mightily before coming on late and eventually winning by disqualification. [Click Here To Read More]
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