A DAZN heavyweight protégé destined for stardom may find himself out of the sport after suffering two shock losses.
It has been nearly four years since Nkosi Solomon was introduced to the boxing world in a rush of publicity after signing with Eddie Hearn.
Matchroom hyped Solomon as a new star when he signed the Guyanese-born New Yorker to an exclusive contract in 2018.
Solomon was confident of doing well with a debut scheduled for October 6 at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena.
heavyweight dream
“My dream is right in front of me, right there. I have to grab it,” Solomon said before his debut. “Nkosi Solomon is the single biggest challenge I have to overcome when it comes to boxing.
“I am conquering my mind because once I do that, nobody. I mean, no one in this world can stop me.
“I have a dream to fulfill. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let another man walk in there and make his will overcome mine.
“It’s a surreal feeling. I have been chasing this dream of winning the undisputed world heavyweight championship for so long.
“As you get closer, it feels amazing. The support I’ve had already is incredible. I can’t wait to get started in Chicago and show what I’ve got.
However, competing on the Jessie Vargas vs. Thomas Dulhorme undercard proved to be a poisonous chalice. Such a large stage saw Solomon freeze.
Just three rounds later, his words came back to haunt him. Little-known Matt Cameron knocked him down in rounds three and four en route to disaster.
A loss of points, and a bad one at that, shattered Solomon’s dream immediately after his pro debut.
Three months later, and after some wise words from Hearn in the locker room, Solomon recovered. He impressively defeated Rodriguez Cade at Madison Square Garden.
Everything looked rosy in the garden again. Hearn promised to keep his man busy and take advantage of his first win.
Interruption of Nkosi Solomon’s career
But soon after, things went from disaster to better to disaster again. Solomon failed a drug test with the New York State Athletic Commission.
Solomon missed nearly a two-year tenure in the top division weight class from January 2019 to December 2020.
There were no social media posts from Solomon and no official news from Matchroom Boxing throughout the proceedings.
Promoter Hearn moved to state that they are no longer working with the 25-year-old later when he served his ban in 2019.
Returning to the small New York saloon scene, the heavyweight boxer joined forces with promoters from Hampshire to resurrect his career.
Reducing his opposition and exposure to fans worked wonders, as Solomon racked up three straight first-round knockouts.
As things got better, they soon crashed back to earth with a bang.
In March of this year at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, Emilio Salas not only beat Solomon but dominated him in their heavyweight bout.
At 27, Nkosi Solomon has moved into the Marsellos Wilder category of once-promising boxers who failed to catch fire.
At an average of 227 pounds, Solomon seems too small for the upper limit anyway and needs to reevaluate his profession.
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