(Photo S. Yamada / ARENA) Odlanier Solis 247, Vitali Klitschko 249.5
The first round goes to the challenger. Cuban Olympic gold medalist Odlanier Solis weighed in at 247 lbs. and was a lot lighter than most fans and experts had expected at today’s official weigh-in for the WBC world heavyweight championship tomorrow (Saturday, March 19th) in Cologne. While Vitali brought his usual 249.5 lbs. Solis showed up in great shape and weighed in around his pro career low of 246.6 lbs. in March 2008.
“He looks better than I expected”, said champion Klitschko who couldn’t hide his surpise. Until the day of the weigh-in team Solis – and especially head coach Pedro Diaz – had not given away any information on the weight and sent “La Sombra” to all official appearances wearing thick jackets.
“Solis has never been as well prepared for a pro-fight”, says promoter Ahmet Oner. “He knows that this is his big chance. He will be fast and powerful and beat Vitali to become the first ever Cuban world heavyweight champion in the pro ranks. This is history in the making.”
The show will be promoted by K2 Promotions in association with ARENA Sports-Promotion and broadcasted live on RTL in Germany, on EPIX in the USA and in more than 120 countries all over the world. EPIX is also doing a live feature on a big screen at Times Square in New York. “The whole world will see the start of a new era in boxing”, says Oner.