By Michael Lieberman: I personally can’t stand either one of these guys. Neither of them are all that good, especially the annoying chatterbox Edison Miranda (30-2, 26 KOs) who talks as if he’s the king crap of the super middleweight division, when in all probability, he may never rise above being one of the middle of the rode contenders. As for IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (26-0, 21 KOs), this guy seems to have been totally protected his entire career up until the point that his management finally let him take a risky opponent in Miranda.
Things didn’t go too well in their previous fight two years ago, as you can see, with Abraham getting his jaw broken badly, swallowing a ton of blood, taking a vicious beating and seeming to be saved by both the referee (who penalized Miranda early and often) and the judges, who in their good hears rewarded Abraham for staying in the fight with a broken jaw by giving him what appeared to be a very questionable unanimous decision victory.
Some victory, huh? I doubt it sat right with Abraham, who had to take eight months off to let his broken jaw heal, while at the same time he had to listen to the constant bickering by opposing fans of both fighters. It was do dull to read about, so much so that I prayed that Abraham and Miranda would come to a quick agreement and a make a rematch.
They didn’t, which left all of his controversy to stew for the past two years, building up over time and making the fight legendary almost. Thank god, the fight was finally set up and we’re only a day from getting this thing over with, because I can’t stomach hearing about it anymore than I already have. Both fighters looked horrible in their previous fight, nothing like champions or future champions.
I suppose Miranda looked a little better between the two of them, only because he was actually trying to make the fight happen whereas Abraham, from the earliest moments of the fight (long before his jaw was broken), seemed most intent on trying to survive without getting knocked out.
Still, even fighting as timidly as he did, Abraham came close to knocking Miranda, specifically in the 9th round when he unloaded on him with a flurry of shots at the tail end of the round, which seemed to put Miranda on queer street for a brief spell. That wasn’t the only time that Abraham hurt Miranda in the fight, however, because he stunned him slightly in the 4th round, as well. Now, if Abraham could do so much damage to Miranda when only fighting at 25% of his usual ability, just imagine what Abraham will do to him when he goes all out.
It won’t be a pretty picture, believe me. I honestly think that Abraham will fight better now that he’s not fighting in front of his home crowd in Germany. I believe that Abraham’s German fans affect him in an adverse manner, screaming too much and rewarding him for fighting carelessly. At least by fighting in the neutral Florida, Abraham will be spared with having to listen to the constant yaps from his adoring German audiences and will thereby be able to fight in a much smarter manner than he has previously.
When Abraham is fighting smart, using his boxing skills and power, he’s a much better fighter than Miranda can ever hope to be. Abraham has the ability to choose between whether he wants to box or slug with his opponents, yet in Miranda’s case he only has one option – to try and take his opponent out or risk losing. He doesn’t have nearly the same boxing skills as Abraham, not even close, and for that reason Miranda lives and dies by the knockout.
Even when he should know better, like, for example, in his fight with Kelly Pavlik, Miranda isn’t able to fight smart and avoid trying to slug it out with his opponents. I’m not suggesting that Abraham is anywhere near as powerful as Pavlik, but what I am saying is that he has many more options than the limited Miranda does.
I see the early round of this fight being somewhat similar to the last fight, with Miranda pressing the action for the most part while Abraham covers up and blocks shots. However, by the 6th round, I see Abraham getting to Miranda with powerful combinations, hurting him. Once Abraham has Miranda in trouble, he’ll quickly pour it on, using Pavlik’s blueprint, and stop Miranda with a shower of blows.