Ulises "Archie" Solis - headed for IBF 108lb title showdown

Did anybody else catch his six-round retirement of tough and game old Bert Batawang in their rematch a couple of months back?

It was easy to miss despite airing on national TV, getting lost in the busy shuffle among Erik Morales' welterweight debut, Abraham-Dirrell, Wonjongkam-Kameda, Gamboa-Barros, Molitor-Ndlovu, Moreno-Cermeno, and the HBO card with Guzman-Funeka II and Maidana-Cayo.

Damn, what a day that was. :shock:

Anyway, it was a very good fight and worth checking out - not a FOTY candidate but solid world class action for the purists and diehards.

Here's my breakdown of the impressions Solis has left on me, both before and during the Batawang rematch:

Offensively, he's a very skilled and diversified puncher despite some fundamental flaws. He generates power from the hips up (hardly at all from his legs) and does have the upper body strength to still possess cracking stuff. His accuracy is not bad at all for someone who primarily punches for power (as opposed to pitty-patting to score points), and both of his hands are equally heavy and he doesn't favor either one, looking for whatever angles are open to him.

Now we get to the bad news. His balance is very poor. So are his defensive instincts and reflexes. He is wide open to lead and counter straight punches down the middle with his stance and how he holds his hands. When he does get hit flush, even if he isn't hurt, he turns his head and blinks, and his already bad footwork gets a little more unraveled, leaving him out of position and vulnerable to follow-up attacks from a comparably good puncher/finisher. When he is the one pressing the action forward, in addition to being a sitting duck for counterpunchers, he also gets overexcited and while not exactly wasting his energy does have a habit of losing his head and fouling a lot trying to rough up opponents he feel are weakened.

The eliminator win over old rival Batawang makes him a mandatory for the winner of Carlos Tamara and Luis Alberto Lazarte for the IBF light flyweight title. I know very little of either of them, what are Solis' chances against whoever emerges victorious?

How about a Viloria rematch?

 

Hawaiian Punch is splitting a bill with AJ Banal in Cebu next month, probably against lesser local talent (or a hand-picked Mexican import) for a bounceback win after losing to Tamara.

Solis himself is in line to get the winner of Tamara-Lazarte (happening in a couple of weeks).

So, a rematch probably wouldn't be until early next year. It'd be almost two years apart from their first fight, but it could be once again for the title and both could raise their profile a bit higher to make it more meaningful (especially if Viloria can get back on American TV after this gimme at "home").

 

Batawang has a hell of a chin. Solis threw the kitchen sink at him. Then picked it up and threw it again. Then he threw the bathtub. :yep

What were the judges' scores going into the 11th?

A couple, yeah, but he needs to gun for a title shot before too long. Being derailed by a loss to someone without a belt could really hurt his chances of getting near one again, so straying too far away from the elite level could be the even bigger risk.