Solis Gets Tough Win Over Norwegian Heavyweight Leif Larsen

On Friday night Cuban Olympic gold medalist Odlanier Solis defended his IBF intercontinental championship by unanimous decision against previously unbeaten Norwegian Leif Larsen.

“La Sombra” dominated the fight and looked good and sharp in the early rounds. He connected with a couple of hard shots but Larsen hung in there and fired back with a couple of decent blows as well.

“I have to say that he is one of the toughest guys I have been in the ring with”, said Solis. “I threw and landed a lot of hard punches. But he took them all and hit me with some of the hardest hands that ever hit me. He is a good fighter. For me it was important to get back in the ring and win the fight. I want to fight more regularly now.”

“I underestimated Larsen”, adds promoter Ahmet Oner. “He is a big and strong guy and I am sure that he can beat many elite fighters. This was a good and important test for Solis and I think he did a great job for the first couple of rounds.

“Later on he did enough to secure the victory even though Larsen connected with some big hands. Of course, we all know that he needs more fights to get back into his rhythm. We will keep him active and get him another fight in two or three months.”

Former WBC Silver welterweight champion Selcuk Aydin outworked Italian ring veteran Giuseppe Lauri to win the PABA light welterweight championship. Aydin won every round and scored a knockdown in the third but Lauri managed to survive without winning a single round.

“The most important thing for me was to get back on the winning track”, said Aydin. “I know that I still have to improve to get back to my old class but in the end all that counts is the victory.”

In other notable action former WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev stopped US journeyman Mike Sheppard in one round.