Barrage of punches awaits Pacquiao – Solis

By NICK GIONGCO

THE VOICE on the end of the line was loud, crisp and clear. It even sounded determined.

At the end of the line was Jorge Solis, the Mexican fighter whom Pacquiao will meet on April 14, who was talking from his high-altitude training camp in the Otomi mountains.

And his message for Manny Pacquiao was that the Filpino icon must be prepared to accept a defeat.

Solis, the 27-year-old underdog from Guadalajara, said yesterday morning that an upset is going to take place on April 14 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

"I am going to come out firing lots of punches," Solis told the Bulletin in a conference call that was arranged by ace Top Rank publicist Ricardo Jimenez, who served as the interpreter in the 15-minute conversation.

"It’s not a question of me hitting Pacquiao with just one punch. I am going to hit him with lots of punches and you would all going to see who I really am," said Solis, who was unperturbed that a lot of people, most especially those from the Philippines, see him as a serving of a tasty Mexican dish that Pacquiao will feast on.

"I am not bothered by what they’re saying because they don’t know me," said Solis, who has and impressive record of 32-0 win-loss with 23 knockouts and a No. 2 ranking in the featherweight division by the World Boxing Council.

Solis began training for the fight as early as January around the same time when Pacquiao, who holds a mark of 43-3-2 with 34 stoppages, was still fulfilling commitments and pondering over his political plans.

"I have sparred 300 rounds and today, I did 10 rounds," said Solis, who works out with four men including teenage phenom Humberto Gutierrez and the wiry but crafty Tomas Rojas, who lost to Gerry Peñalosa last year.

Assisting him in training are his father Aurelio and brother Ulises, who is also an active fighter.
In charge of his conditioning is Raul Robles, who had also worked with Erik Morales.

In contrast, Pacquiao has logged more than 80 rounds of sparring at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood under the watchful eyes of Australian conditioning coach Justin Fortune, subbing for Freddie Roach, and training assistants Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri.

A father of two kids, Jorge Jr. and Dominique, Solis bragged that "Pacquiao hasn’t faced anyone like me."

Long-armed and an owner of a potent right straight punch, Solis is listed at 5-10 and will be the tallest foe thus far Pacquiao will face in his storied career.

"I am very excited about this fight and I know it’s going to be tough but I have prepared well and hard and I won’t let this slip away," added Solis just before hanging up.