FRIDAY A.M. UPDATE:

Goodness, 271 pounds! What is it with heavyweights these days? Odlanier Solis's heaviest-ever weight today for his bout with Monte Barrett was a shocker — one respected trainer I know believes that Solis should really be boxing as a CRUISERWEIGHT. I will leave the preview below as originally written apart from an amendment to the prediction. All bets off? Not necessarily, but all bets that include an "under" proposition or Solis by KO maybe should be reviewed.

Despite his outstanding amateur record and undoubted talent, there are some doubts about the Cuban heavyweight Odlanier Solis. The Olympic Games gold medallist and three-time world amateur champion is unbeaten and probably hasn’t lost more than one round on a judge’s scorecard as a professional, but his work ethic is questioned. Solis simply looks too heavy at around the 260-pound mark.

So far Solis has been cruising along nicely, with 14 consecutive wins, but there seems to be no sense of urgency about him and I sometimes have the impression that he will only fight as hard as an opponent makes him fight. For instance, Solis had the chance to make an impression when he appeared on Friday Night Fights in January but he fought in spurts against the 6ft 6ins Kevin Burnett before chopping his opponent down in the eighth round. The way Solis finished the job was impressive, but one felt that he could have taken Burnett out of the fight several rounds earlier.

Solis takes a step up in class in Saturday’s Latin Fury PPV show at the Madison Square Garden theatre when he meets veteran Monte Barrett, who took the bout at short notice after Fres Oquendo was obliged to withdraw due to legal issues in Illinois.

Barrett, 38, is unlikely to be intimidated. He has fought at the highest level, going down gamely against Wladimir Klitschko, Nikolai Valuev and David Haye. He even seemed to drop Haye with a left hook in their wild fight in London last November, but referee Richie Davies waved it off as a slip — and Barrett had a point deducted for hitting the British heavyweight while he was on the canvas.

Although Barrett fought aggressively, he was leaving himself open as he hurled haymakers and Haye had him down five times. Haye is, of course, a seriously hard hitter, but Barrett had a shaky look and seemed to be getting into trouble even from glancing shots. The New York veteran did have a spectacular first-round win over towering Tye Fields but in hindsight it now seems clear that it was a matter of time before the big fellow was brutally exposed. Barrett suffered a knee injury when stopped by Cliff Couser in a two-round shocker a couple of years ago, but it has to be considered worrying when a former contender gets dropped heavily by a journeyman.

Although Barrett blew away Couser in a rematch and then toppled Tye Fields with a big right hand, I get the feeling that his punch-resistance isn’t what is once was.

It is always possible that Barrett will decide to go to a moving, countering style, the way he did when Hasim Rahman outpointed him four years ago in a dull 12-rounder, but it is out of character for Monte to adopt a survival strategy. As a rule, he will come to fight, prepared take his chances on getting caught as he tries to land his heavy right hands and left hooks. I think that Barrett will be seeking to test Solis’s heart and chin, and this could lead to him getting nailed by sharp shots.

If Solis is going to go anywhere, this is a fight that he should be able to win in good style. Before the Friday weigh-in I was expecting him to do just this, some time between the sixth and ninth rounds. With Solis weighing 271 pounds, though, who really knows what to expect? I am still expecting Solis to win but it would not surprise me if this showcase fight turns into a disappointing 10-round slog.