Jamie McDonnell to defend his WBA title in Monaco rematch with Liborio Solis
The Doncaster boxer retained his WBA bantamweight title with a closely-fought but controversial points win over Solis last November and the pair will fight again in Monaco
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Jamie McDonnell will defend his WBA bantamweight title in a rematch with Liborio Solis in Monaco on November 4, it was announced on Monday.
McDonnell outpointed the Venezuelan last November in a controversial fight last year and the pair will now go head-to-head for a second time at the Salle Médecin of the Casino de Monte Carlo, on a card also featuring Scott Quigg and Dereck Chisora and headlined by Dmitry Bivol’s light-heavyweight title fight against Trent Broadhurst.
The first fight between McDonnell and Solis ended on an acrimonious note when a below-par McDonnell earned a unanimous points victory. Solis ended the contest firmly on the front foot and was left stunned by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 in the Doncaster man’s favour.
“We wanted a hard 12 rounds, I felt in control. I'm a little gutted, listening to your comments. It is what it is,” McDonnell commented after the fight.
It didn’t take long for Manuel Perez Barreiro, who manages Solis, to file a protest of the fight with the WBA, with the organisation’s championship committee evaluating the request and agreeing that a rematch between the pair was justified.
There is a lot of British interest on the undercard, with British heavyweight Dereck Chisora challenging Agit Kabayel for the European heavyweight title. The 33-year-old, who lost his last fight to rising star Dillian Whyte, is hoping to win the belt for a second time, having previously held it from September 2013 to November 2014.
And Quigg, in his second fight with new trainer Freddie Roach, will take on Oleg Yefimovich in an eliminator for the WBA World Featherweight title.
“We are delighted to be back in Monaco for an incredible evening of world championship boxing live on Sky Sports in the UK and HBO across America,” promoter Eddie Hearn said.
“I'm excited to watch Dmitry Bivol, one of the most exciting young fighters in world boxing, and of course to see the world title rematch of Jamie McDonnell versus Liborio Solis after their last close encounter.
“Former world champion Scott Quigg has one of the toughest tests in his career so far against the highly ranked Yefimovych and heavyweight Dereck Chisora is in an all-out war with current European Champion Agit Kabayel.
“This is a special event in a special place and we can't wait to take the Sky Sports and HBO cameras to Monaco in November.”
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