Dacres spars Cuban before the big fights

Solomon Dacres and McCracken…the heavy is now world ranked

IT’S shaping up to be a very big year for Solomon Dacres, the heavy who pulled off one of 2025’s biggest upsets.

The Warley boxer now has a world ranking and manager Max McCracken is pushing for a straight British title shot.

This week Sol flies to Majorca to spar top Cuban heavyweight Carlos Castillo Rodriguez, unbeaten in nine.

The breakthrough is richly deserved and hard earned.

In July, the 32-year-old faced Ukrainian powerhouse Vladyslav Sirenko at Wembley and, frankly, the debate was about how long Dacres would last, not if he could win.

Sirenko came into the fight having won all 22 previous contests, 19 of them early. “Real Deal” Dacres had been stopped in the first round of his previous contest.

There were those who questioned McCracken’s decision to take the high-risk 10 rounder.

He had the last laugh: Max had done his home-work, I – and many others – simply looked at the stats. Dacres, a former outstanding amateur, produced a boxing masterclass and trounced Sirenko in a bout so one-sided it was close to embarrassment.

The against-all-odds win has seen Dacres’ stock soar, though progress has been hindered by a torn bicep: he hasn’t fought since that memorable night. There will undoubtedly be big fights in 2026.

McCracken laid out the blueprint to me.

He said: “Sol’s got a world ranking now, Number 14 in the WBO world heavyweight rankings, so we will be looking for big fights in 2026.

“We would like to fight Jamie TKV for the British title and are pushing with the Board to make Sol his mandatory challenger.

“If we can’t get that we will be looking to climb up the rankings and be in the big fights Sol deserves. He really bounced back in style in his last fight at Wembley Stadium, beating world rated Sirenko and getting himself back in the picture.

“We’ll be ready to fight at the end of February and are awaiting a fight date from Queensbury (Promotions). We’ll take anyone above us in the ranking that can push Sol further up the ladder. He’s worked hard to get back to top shape and is getting fight ready, with no time off over Christmas. Now he deserves to be in those big heavyweight fights.”