
Ulises Solis -- A Day of Reckoning
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 12 Dec 2007

As they saying goes: ?you can run but you can not hide?. For Solis, the line could not be more appropriate.
After several postponements for various reasons, flimsy or otherwise, Solis and his handlers run out of excuses. He now must defend his IBF mini-flyweight crown against the mandatory challenger, Bert ?Ninja? Batawang of Cebu or risk being stripped of his title.
The venue for the December 15th fight will be Guadalajara, Mexico, Solis' hometown.
The selection of the venue is a cunning move by the handlers of Solis.
Defending his crown on his home turf is a definite plus for Solis. He will have his own folks in the crowd and eat home cooking. Most importantly, he will not need to adjust to the climate and time changes.
Adjusting to the climate and time changes is something that is often taken for granted by many boxing promoters, managers and boxers. The action or rather the lack of action regarding the proper management of these issues oftentimes ends with a disastrous result for the boxers.
Case in point: Marino Montiel of Mexico. Montiel took the fight with Rey BoomBoom Bautista on a very short notice. He flew from Mexico to Cebu only a couple or three days prior to the fight.
Montiel is a decent fighter. Although he may not be in the same level as Bautista, if he had the proper time to acclimate and manage his jet lag, he could have given Boom Boom a decent fight. But, that was not the case. BoomBoom KO?d him in round three.
Now, I am not suggesting that Batawang will be KO?d by Solis because the former came to town four days prior to the fight. On the contrary, there is a very high probability that Batawang may KO Solis.
No offense meant, but given the possibility that Batawang may conceivably be up against ?five opponents? during fight night (Solis, the three judges and the crowd), perhaps it would have been better for him to have more time to acclimatize and manage jet lag.
For Solis, the day of reckoning is now here. No more excuses and no more running away.
His handlers kept him away from Batawang as far as possible. When they run out of options, they managed to give him lots of advantages -- the fight venue, the hometown crowd and perhaps even the judging.
Now it is up to him to prove that he is a champion worth keeping the IBF crown.
Batawang, even with the entire disadvantages stack on his side will surely give Solis a good run for his money. And from the looks of it, having been pissed off by the Solis people changing the fight schedule several times, Batawang will do his outmost to make him pay.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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