adminamid farcical scenes with a first-round knock-out of Cuban challenger Odlanier Solis.
The fight was just three minutes old when Klitschko caught the Cuban on the top of the head and the 30-year-old rocked briefly before tumbling awkwardly to the canvas for the first defeat of his career.
The referee ruled the Cuban had injured his knee in the fall and was unable to continue, awarding Klitschko a technical knock-out. It was a bizarre end to a short fight and the champion was left shrugging his shoulders in frustration as the crowd at Cologne’s Lanxess Arena booed their disapproval at what was effectively a non-contest.
“It’s really bad luck, but I slipped and I picked up the injury,” said a clearly embarrassed Solis. “It will take me a lot of time to get over this . . .I am not used to losing.”
The fight will do nothing to boost Klitschko’s credibility after he was taken to 12 rounds by America’s Shannon Briggs last October, despite the US fighter having torn a bicep in the opening rounds.
“I’m disappointed, because that should have been the first of 12 rounds,” said Klitschko, who struggled to make himself heard over the cat-calls from boxing fans.
“But after I hit him, he did not seem to want to keep fighting.” – AFP.
Online Reporter
- Herald
- June 4, 2026
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