By Dan Ambrose: It was sad to see former middleweight contender Edison Miranda (33-5, 29 KO’s) being taken out in the 3rd round by International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (26-0, 21 KO’s) at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Canada. Miranda, 5’10”, looked small compared to the 6’2” Bute, and although both of them were pretty much the same weight last Saturday night, Miranda appeared to be a weight class below Bute in size. Since Miranda has now been beaten in two out of his last three fights at super middleweight, I think that’s a good sign that he’s not really cut out for this weight class.

Sure, he can stay in this division for the remainder of his career and serve as a contender or trial horse for rising fighters, but I just can’t see Miranda ever beating any of the champions. The division is just too good and Miranda doesn’t have the speed or the chin for the division. I think Miranda was a lot better fighter when he was fighting in the middleweight division, where his size was more normal compared to the other fighters.

Miranda’s power at that weight class makes him an instant threat to anyone in the division, apart from Kelly Pavlik, who already beat Miranda. I think it’s a little late in the game for Miranda to try and change his style to become more of a boxer. I’d like to see some tinkering done to make him more elusive, but in looking at his slow foot movements, I doubt that much of an inroad can be made in helping Miranda’s slow footwork.

But the best I think Miranda can do for himself is to move back down to middleweight. I think it’s the best way for him to potentially become a champion, because I don’t see him being competitive with any of the current super middleweight champions or even the top contenders. Last night, Miranda looked timid in the 1st round against Bute, pawing with his punches instead of throwing with authority. In the 2nd round, Miranda landed several nice right hands to the head of Bute to win the round on my scorecard. However, Miranda looked too small and moved like he was stuck in quicksand through most of the round. In the 3rd, Miranda got hit with a couple of hard body shots from Bute.

Miranda tried to play if off by putting his hands on his hips, as if to say ‘It didn’t hurt.’ However, Bute knew he was bluffing and went after him. Miranda had landed a huge right hand just before that – his best punch of the fight. However, Bute took the shot without any problems and began returning fire with big punches of his own. Miranda then got clipped with a hard left uppercut to the head just as he was leaning forward.

The punch sent Miranda face down on the canvas. He got to his feet, but referee Ernie Sharif stopped the fight at 1:20 of the round. Some people are saying that Miranda should retire after this defeat, and I suppose that’s an option for Miranda to take. But I think he would be much better off trying to move back down in weight if he can and try his luck at middleweight. As long as he avoids Pavlik, I think Miranda might have a decent chance at challenging for a title. He’d have to really control his weight, though, because he’ll end up coming in weight drained again like he did in his second fight with Arthur Abraham if he continues to put on weight in between fights.