By Jim Dower: Colombian knockout artist Edison Miranda (32-3, 28 KOs) will be taking another big career risk when he faces 2004 light heavyweight Olympic Gold Medalist Andre Ward (18-0, 12 KOs) at the Oracle Arena, in Oakland, California. Ward’s team feels that he’s ready to take a big step in competition and is willing to risk a future title shot in putting him in with the explosive punching Miranda. Ward, 25, is currently ranked number #1 in the WBO, and doesn’t to face a tough opponent like Miranda in order to get a title shot.
However, a win over Miranda will go a long way in pumping up an eventual title shot against one of the super middleweight champions by making a bigger name out of Ward. As of now, Ward has faced largely soft opponents with names that only hardcore boxing fans would recognize.
Miranda would be a huge leap up in competition for Ward. Miranda doesn’t have the speed, mobility or the same boxing skills as Ward, but he does have enough power to make up for his many flaws. Ward is a southpaw, so that will help him a lot in this fight, but in the past Miranda seems to have his biggest problems with big punchers and not boxers or movers.
Ward can hit hard, but he’s more of a fighter that takes his opponents out with a massive accumulation of shots. He does this by getting close enough to them to land his combinations. Getting close to Miranda will be a problem because he can end a fight at any moment with his two-fisted power.
If Ward wants to beat Miranda, he’s going to have to land fast shots and try to get away as quick as possible. He doesn’t have the size and power of someone like Arthur Abraham, who often came into his fights with Miranda the much bigger man, which allowed him to get away with things that smaller fighters can’t do against Miranda.
Miranda, 28, has had an uneven career, starting off well in his pro career with a 28-0 record with 24 knockouts. He took a gamble and faced another knockout puncher named Kelly Pavlik in May 2007, and was stopped by Pavlik in the 7th round. Miranda was competitive early on with Pavlik but then beaten down as the rounds progressed.
The loss really hurt Miranda’s career, because at the time he had been trying to get a shot at the world middleweight title holder Jermain Taylor. Instead, it was Pavlik who was the one that got the title shot against Taylor and he ended up beating him by a 7th round stoppage.
Meanwhile, Miranda attempted to pick up the pieces of his boxing career by knocking out Henry Porras and David Banks. But, then Miranda was knocked out once again, losing by a 4th round knockout to Arthur Abraham in June 2008. Miranda moved up in weight and has since defeated Manuel Esparza and Joey Vegas at light heavyweight in 2009.