Miranda Faces Banks On Friday

By Boxing News - 01/09/2008 - Comments

Former middleweight contender Edison Miranda (29-2, 25 KOs) returns to the ring this Friday against former reality television fighter David Banks (15-2-1) on Friday Night Fights at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Hollywood, Florida. Miranda, 27, now fighting in the super middleweight division, is hoping to erase the sting from his embarrassing 7th round TKO loss to Kelly Pavlik on May 18th, 2007, by destroying the 24 year-old Banks on National television. It will effectively be a boxer vs. a slugger in this bout, as Banks, who’s mainly known for competing on “The Contender” boxing program on ESPN, has almost zero power to match his zero knockouts on his record. He’ll likely be running for his life against Miranda, as he doesn’t have the type of power to stand in front of Miranda and trade like Pavlik did.

This bout is especially important for Miranda, because if he wins, it sets up a bout between him and undefeated Canadian super middleweight contender Jean Pascal (25-0, 14 KOs), who is also fighting on the same card this Friday. That bout, if it comes off, holds a lot of interest for many boxing fans, since it pits the blazing fast, hard-punching Pascal against Miranda, both trying to work their way up to a title shot against one Joe Calzaghe or Lucian Bute. Calzaghe, 35, doesn’t figure to be around for much longer, as he’d mentioned that this will be his last year in boxing, so that will open several titles with which Miranda and Pascal hope to challenge for in the near future.

Banks, 24, seems to think he’s being badly underestimated in this Friday’s bout with Miranda, and feels that he has the talent to surprise him. However, it’s going to be tough for him due his lack of power, because in order for him to win, he’s going to have to stand in the pocket for certain amount of time and trade with Miranda. That’s likely to be recipe for failure for Banks, who will will probably taste the canvas once or twice in the bout. Banks will likely try and stay away from Miranda once he finds out how hard he can punch, and from that point on the fight will essentially turn into a track meet with Miranda trying to chase down Banks all night.