Mexican says his wife hits harder than Manny

SAN ANTONIO – Despite two trips to the canvas, Mexican loser Jorge Solis said his wife Fabiola Janet hits harder than Manny Pacquiao ironically after he was knocked out by the Filipino icon at the Alamodome here Saturday night (yesterday morning, Manila time).

Solis made the startling comparison as he walked out of the arena, accompanied by his father Aurelio.

"Pacquiao never hurt me with one punch," said Solis in Spanish. "All that talk about how strong he is, I think it’s exaggerated. Sure, I respect him and he beat me. But it was an accumulation of punches that put me down. I got dizzy after taking so many punches and that’s how I lost."

Solis, 27, said he’ll fight Pacquiao in a rematch wherever he wants – even in his backyard. And next time, he’ll be better prepared.

"I’m a natural featherweight," said Solis. "I put on some weight to fight Pacquiao at superfeatherweight and in the process, I lost track of how much I weighed. That’s why it took me four tries before making the limit at the weigh-in. I’ll go back to fighting at featherweight where I am more comfortable."

His father Aurelio said if there’s a next time, Solis will know what to do to win.

"He needs more work in the gym," said Aurelio who trains his son. "Pacquiao won fair and square. He was too strong for my son who fought out of his weight division. If they fight again, we will figure out a strategy to neutralize Pacquiao’s speed and power."

Solis used an awkward style and a long left jab to frustrate Pacquiao in the early going.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach, who flew in that afternoon from Oscar de la Hoya’s training camp in Puerto Rico, said Solis was never a threat.

"Manny knew from the start he could take Solis’ punch," said Roach. "Solis just isn’t in his class. Manny didn’t slip and slide the way he did against (Erik) Morales because he wanted to go straight in and attack Solis. But Solis made good use of his reach to make it difficult for Manny. It got competitive only because Manny let it."

Pacquiao said when he was cut over the left eyelid in the sixth round, he decided it was time to finish off Solis. He pursued his prey and got the job done in the eighth.

From the onset, there was never a doubt who was the superior fighter. Pacquiao, however, had some anxious moments when Solis landed crisp left jab-right straight combinations as he moved in. Pacquiao showed little lateral movement and couldn’t get the angles to land his bombs because Solis kept a safe distance away.

Pacquiao admitted his plan was to counterpunch and wear down Solis. It didn’t work according to plan because Solis wasn’t only awkward but also crafty. Then came the cut and Pacquiao, with a sense of urgency, was forced to step up his attack.

Up to the eighth round, Pacquiao threw 516 punches to Solis’ 351 and had a slight edge in rate of connection, 32 to 29 percent. He landed 140 punches, including 109 power shots and Solis, only 63.

The three judges had Pacquiao comfortably ahead after seven rounds. Larry O’Connell saw it 69-65 with the fourth even. Gale Van Hoy scored it 68-65 with Solis winning the third and fifth rounds. Oren Schellenberger had it 69-64 with Solis taking only the fifth.