Tavoris Cloud kept his light heavyweight title by outpointing Fulgencio Zuniga over twelve rounds at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL. The IBF champ remains undefeated with this win and hopefully moves on to some more meaningful fights with either Jean Pascal, Chad Dawson, or Bernard Hopkins. Cloud is now 22-0 with 18 KOs to his name and has defended his title twice now, including a close win over tough Glen Johnson.
Tavoris and Zuniga both came to fight, throwing a huge number of punches each round. The average for a light heavyweight is around 60-65 punches per round but Cloud threw 83 and Zuniga threw 93 per round, and both men tossed em like they meant it. Tavoris won on all three judges’ scorecards with the cards at 117-108, 118-108, and 116-109. Still, the Columbian Zuniga was very durable throughout the bout and made it worth watching. He fell to 24-5-1.
Cloud controlled the pace and the action with constant jabs and double jabs, plus some thunderous right hooks. He did what he was supposed to do and deserves to remain champ. “I know I had better skills, but he obviously came into this fight in good shape,” Cloud said. “I only give myself a ‘B’ performance. I will tell you, I took this man seriously because I knew he was going to come to fight.”
The other event of the night showcased Odlanier Solis against Ray Austin for the right to challenge champion Vitali Klitschko. Solis is a Cuban AMA hero with an impressive amateur record and unblemished pro one. Solis won the fight against Austin by way of disqualification in the 10th round. It was a sluggish affair, but Solis was clearly the better man on the night. He is now 17-0. “He is accurate and has good defence,” Austin said. “He rests and recovers, well, too. The only downside for him could be his chin. I see him being the next champion. He is good.”
Solis was able to knock Austin down with straight left in the 5th round, but failed to follow up. Strangely, in the sixth round, when Odlanier could;ve pushed for the win, he instead held back and Austin got his legs back. Finally, in the 10th round, both men got tangled and nearly went over the top rope. Only the diminutive ref saved them from toppling over and the bell rang to end the round. But apparently Austin didn’t hear or chose not to heed the bell, because he proceeded to hit Solis late. The ref called the match off due to the foul and Solis moves on as winner.
The scorecards were a muddled affair at the time of the stoppage with one ref favoring each fighter and one calling it a draw. The DQ settled it all though. Solis stated, “What’s the worst that could have happened – I could have knocked him out or make him look ridiculous. I made him look ridiculous.”

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1. Cloud-Zuniga + Solis-Austin doubleheader preview
2. Cloud to defend light heavyweight crown- Solis vs Austin