The heavyweight rematch between former world title challengers Tony Thompson and Odlanier Solis, scheduled to take place Oct. 18 in Dusseldorf, Germany, has been postponed, it was announced Monday.
Ahmet Oner, Solis' promoter, said that Solis, training for the fight in Miami, suffered a sprained ankle. Oner said the tentative date to reschedule the 12-round fight is Nov. 22.
"I flew straight to Miami when I heard of the injury to see how bad it is," Oner said. "Fortunately, the doctor says that no ligaments have been torn and nothing is broken. Solis has to take a break in training for 10 days but can go right back to work after that. So we will definitely do the fight before the end of the year. Right now we are looking at Nov. 22 as [the] new date, but we have to reconfirm with all parties involved, including Team Thompson, the venue, TV, etc. ... We want to keep the show in Dusseldorf so that the already sold tickets would still be valid."
When Thompson and Solis met on March 22 in Oner's native Turkey, Thompson pulled an upset, winning a split decision.
Thompson (39-5, 26 KOs), 42, of Washington, D.C., who has twice been knocked out challenging world champion Wladimir Klitschko, lost his next fight in France to contender Carlos Takam by unanimous decision before agreeing to the rematch with Solis.
Solis (20-2, 13 KOs), 34, the 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist who defected and now lives in Miami, has not fought since losing to Thompson. Solis was stopped in the first round challenging then-titleholder Vitali Klitschko in 2011 when he blew out his knee.