WARLEY heavyweight Solomon Dacres has been handed a huge opportunity on a truly huge show.
The 31-year-old will fight in a 10 rounder on the July 19 Oleksandr Usyk–Daniel Dubois Wembley world title showdown.
Dacres faces Vladyslav Sirenko, a Ukrainian like Usyk, who boasts a very impressive record. The 30-year-old has won all his 22 contests, 19 by stoppage.
The clash will be for a title, I’m sure, though one has yet to be revealed. There will probably be an international belt up for grabs.
Solomon, a former GB amateur and pro English champ, has taken the bout at three weeks’ notice, but Max McCracken, the 6ft 5in fighter’s trainer, stressed he’s fit and ready.
“If you don’t take these opportunities someone else will and you end up at the back of the queue,” Max said.
Both McCracken and Dacres are confident of pulling off an upset – and, make no mistake, Sirenko will be the bookies’ favourite.
“Sol has to be at his best to win the fight,” Max said. “But if you look at Sirenko’s record, the opposition has not been great. If Sol had faced that level of opposition, he’d probably have the same record.
“The record shows he (Sirenko) is not an out and out KO artist.”
British based Czech Kamil Sokolowski went the full route with Sirenko and sports a modest 11-28-3 record. Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko, the man who stopped McCracken’s other pro heavy, Matty Harris, lasted the distance in 2020. He’s currently 10-18-1.
Dacres was on the championship trail very early in his career. He took the English title in only his sixth bout, defended it twice, then was stopped in under a round by David Adeleye with the belt on the line.
He has not fought since that loss last December. It is the only blemish on a 10 fight record.
“Sol was matched quite tough early on and there have been injuries,” Max said.
“He’s now injury free and I can see the improvements in the gym. He just has to put it all together. He’s stayed in the gym so when the chance did come, he’d be ready.”
‘Real Deal’ Dacres has been rewarded for his patience. And the chance is probably much bigger than he and McCracken dreamed it would be.
