Johnriel Casimero was declared the new IBF Jr. Flyweight Champion yesterday, July 19, after the organization learned that Ulises Solis would still not be able to defend his title by October 30, 2012. Solis was granted a medical exception after suffering a broken jaw in an alleged altercation with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in December 2011.
Details of that altercation are still somewhat sketchy, at least depending on who you want to believe. According to Solis, who of course is about half the size of Canelo, Canelo came up, starting talking trash, and then broke his jaw.
The exception granted from the IBF gave Ulises an additional 9 months from the original mandatory date of January 30, 2012 to defend his title. This week the IBF received a letter from Solis’s physician explaining that in order for the boxer’s jaw to heal properly he required a bone fragment transplant. This procedure was performed on Solis on May 29. Furthermore, the physician recommended an additional six month healing period from this surgery. As a result, Solis will not be able to meet the extended mandatory deadline set for October 30, 2012 to defend his title.
The IBF wishes Mr. Solis the best of luck and a speedy recovery.
Casimero, of course, was in the midst of an in-the-ring controversy in his last bout, when he won the interim IBF strap. That was the infamous Argentinian fight against Luis Lazarte, which ended up in a crazy riot.
The story about Canelo Alvarez is so out there and potentially damaging publicity wise, it’s pretty amazing how much it has been swept under the rug and kept there.
