Connect with us

Articles of 2008

Abraham Closes Show And Miranda's Mouth

Published

on

Edison Miranda needs to talk less often and duck more often.

For the second straight time in a big fight Miranda ran his mouth all week long but ended up speechless and on the floor long before the scheduled end of his work shift, this time at the hands of IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham.

King Arthur, as he’s called back home in Germany, reigned supreme Saturday night at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Fla. because he rained counter rights and lefts into the face of Miranda like a hail storm in the fourth round, driving him to the floor three times before referee Telis Assimenios stopped the carnage at 1:13 of the round.

Miranda had been the aggressor all week and he remained that way early in the fight with the methodical Abraham remaining patient as always, his hands held high and his eyes constantly searching for the instant when he could counter Miranda’s often wide hooks.

When that chance first availed itself late in round 3, Abraham wobbled Miranda with a right hand that buckled the challenger’s knees in the same way middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik had when the two faced each other in a title eliminator a year ago. Eventually Pavlik would stop Miranda in seven rounds. Abraham got the job done even faster, needing barely two more minutes after landing that first big right hand to do it after he’d hurt him the first time.

That set up a showdown with Pavlik to unify the titles, a fight Abraham has been calling for. He did so again Saturday night not long after knocking Miranda flat with a straight counter right midway through round 4 and a grazing left on the top of the head that grazed him as he began to topple.

Miranda was up quickly but now totally on the defensive. As Miranda retreated, Abraham pursued him and the challenger’s shoddy defense became his downfall once again. As he back pedaled his hands were spread so wide it made them all but defensively useless and the champion quickly took advantage of it, driving him down on his back a second time with a sweeping left hook to the jaw.

His eyes now glazed and carrying the wary look of a man being assaulted in a lonely alley, Miranda struggled up but soon was back down for a third time from another left hook. As Miranda tried to escape Abraham’s normally more potent right hand he opened himself up to a finishing left that had Abraham grinning and Miranda groveling on the canvas.

This came after a long week of the boastful Miranda claiming he would break Abraham’s jaw in the same way he had when they first met two years ago in Germany. That night Miranda snapped Abraham’s jaw in two places, cracking it so severely it took 22 screws to put it back together. Abraham fought eight rounds with blood filling his mouth in a fight he won by a controversial though unanimous decision.

Miranda had five points deducted that night for low blows and head butts but even if he hadn’t he still would have lost a majority decision. Despite that, Miranda and his handlers insisted he’d been robbed in Germany and claimed it would be different this time now that he was no longer struggling to make 160 pounds but was free to fight at the over-the-weight limit of an agreed to 166. No matter, as things turned out, because Abraham proved to be the stronger and the more resourceful man once again.

“I tired him out, then I knocked him down,’’ Abraham said in the same efficient way he fights. “I’m a true champion and a champion has confidence in himself.’’

Rightfully so, as things turned out. Miranda talks like a confident man but he has now been beaten three times, dropped on as many occasions and is clearly a bully who can’t take it when faced with the attack of top shelf opponents like Abraham, who has now beaten him twice, and Pavlik, who Abraham desperately hopes to face before the year ends.

“I wish to fight with Oscar De La Hoya (doesn’t everyone these days?) and Kelly Pavlik,’’ Abraham said and he certainly made a strong case for himself. Miranda, meanwhile, seemed in a muted state of shock after his head finally cleared.

“I really don’t know what happened,’’ he said. “I just felt he was too strong tonight. I was 100 per cent prepared but I felt weak.’’

That didn’t start until Abraham first nailed him with the right hand late in Round 3 but his dissolution came quickly after that, allowing Abraham to remain undefeated (27-0, 22 KO) and as yet unchallenged. Yet as much as he and the world wants a showdown between Abraham and Pavlik to settle who is the best middleweight in the world, former junior middleweight champion Raul Marquez put an obstacle in Abraham’s way by outfighting previously undefeated Giovanni Lorenzo on the undercard in a remarkable performance of perseverance, pain tolerance and patient passion.

Marquez was not expected to be able to stand up against the power punching Lorenzo, who was 26-0 with 18 knockouts when the night began, but he survived three cuts above and around his right eye, a face smeared with his own plasma and an ever decreasing number of powerful right hands from the slowly ebbing Lorenzo to win a unanimous decision.

The 36-year-old Marquez (41-3-1) started slowly but began to break down Lorenzo’s resolve simply by his willingness to not only take the abuse his 27-year-old opponent was heaping upon him early in the fight but also with his trademark relentless aggressiveness.

By midway through the fight, Lorenzo seemed unable to accept that unlike his less resilient opponents Marquez was not going anywhere without a lot of convincing. It never came.

“I was older and wiser (than Lorenzo),’’ Marquez said after winning a unanimous decision that hinged on a one-point deduction from Lorenzo for a low blow. The decision seemed far tighter in the opinion of the three judges, who all scored it 114-113, than the crowd felt but in the end it didn’t matter because Marquez now is the mandatory challenger for Arthur and is spoiling for that fight.

“He’s a young guy who was hungry, awkward, dirty sometimes,’’ Marquez said. “I thought we’d get to him. I had to dig deep, really deep, in there. I’m a warrior. Blood doesn’t faze me. Blood makes me hungrier.

“I think I took over in the middle rounds. Now I got a shot at some kind of world title. I think I deserve it.’’

Certainly he earned it on the same night Arthur Abraham handed Edison Miranda what he deserved – a beating.

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Ekow-Essuman-Upsets-Josh-Taylor-and-Moses-Itauma-Blasts-Out-Mike-Balogun-in-Glasgow
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Ekow Essuman Upsets Josh Taylor and Moses Itauma Blasts Out Mike Balogun in Glasgow

Newspaperman-Playwright-Author-Bobby-Cassidy-Jr-Commemorates-his-Fighting-Father
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Newspaperman/Playwright/Author Bobby Cassidy Jr Commemorates His Fighting Father

A-Night-of-Mismatches-Turns-Topsy-Turvy-at-Mandalay-Bay-Resendiz-Shocks-Plant
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

A Night of Mismatches Turns Topsy-Turvy at Mandalay Bay; Resendiz Shocks Plant

Avila-Perspective-Chap-330-Matchroom-in-New-York-plus-the-latest-on-Canelo-Crawford
Featured Articles1 week ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 330: Matchroom in New York plus the Latest on Canelo-Crawford

Vinny-Paz-is-Going-into-the-Boxing-Hall-of-Fame-Hey-why-Not-Roger-Mayweather?
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Vinny Paz is Going into the Boxing Hall of Fame; Hey, Why Not Roger Mayweather?

Remembering-the-Under-Appreciated-Body-Snatcher-Mike-McCallum,-a-Conusmmate-Pro
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Remembering the Under-Appreciated “Body Snatcher” Mike McCallum, a Consummate Pro    

Vito-Mielnicki-Whitewashes-Kamil-Gardzielik-Before-the-Home-Folks-in-Newark
Featured Articles1 day ago

Vito Mielnicki Jr Whitewashes Kamil Gardzielik Before the Home Folks in Newark

Avila-Perspective-Chap-228-Viva-Las-Vegas-Back-in-the-Boxing-Spotlight
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 228: Viva Las Vegas, Back in the Boxing Spotlight

Opetaia-and-Nakatani-Crush-Overmatched-Foes-Capping-Off-a-Wild-Boxing-Weekend
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Opetaia and Nakatani Crush Overmatched Foes, Capping Off a Wild Boxing Weekend

Pacquiao-is-Back,-Fabio-in-England-and-More.jpg
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap 329: Pacquiao is Back, Fabio in England and More

Results-and-Recaps-from-Las-Vegas-Where-Melikuziev-Nipped-Fulghum-in-a-Fierce-Fight
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Results and Recaps from Las Vegas Where Melikuziev Nipped Fulghum in a Fierce Battle

Fabio-Wardley-Comes-from-Behind-to-KO-Justis-Huni
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Fabio Wardley Comes from Behind to KO Justis Huni  

Angelo-Leo-Retains-His-Featherweight-Title-Before-a-Hostile-Crowd-in-Osaka
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Angelo Leo Retains His Featherweight Title Before a Hostile Crowd in Osaka

Delving-Into-'Hoopa'-With-Notes-on-Books-by-George-Plimpton-and-Joyce-Carol-Oates
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Delving into ‘Hoopla’ with Notes on Books by George Plimpton and Joyce Carol Oates

Catching-Up-with-Clay-Moyle-Who-Talks-About-His-Massive-Collection-of-Boxing-Books
Featured Articles1 week ago

Catching Up with Clay Moyle Who Talks About His Massive Collection of Boxing Books

The-Shafting-of-Blair-the-Flair-Cobbs-a-Familar-Thread-in-the-Cruelest-Sport
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

The Shafting of Blair “The Flair” Cobbs, a Familiar Thread in the Cruelest Sport

Richardson-Hitchins-Batters-and-Stops-George-Kambosos-at-Madison-Square-Garden
Featured Articles1 week ago

Richardson Hitchins Batters and Stops George Kambosos at Madison Square Garden 

A-Fight-Fan-and-Teremoana-Samson-Junior-Leon-Teremoana
Featured Articles5 days ago

A Fight Fan and Teremoana Samson Junior Leon Teremoana

Brian-Norman-Jr-Bombs-Out-Jin-Sasaki-with-a-Frightful-Left-Hook
Featured Articles4 days ago

Brian Norman Jr Bombs Out Jin Sasaki with a Frightful Left Hook

Avila-Perspective-Chap-331-Callum-Walsh-Brian-Norman-Galal-Yafai-and-More
Featured Articles3 days ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 331: Callum Walsh, Brian Norman, Galal Yafai and More

Callum-Walsh-Umar-Dzambekov-and-Cain-Sandoval-Remain-Unbeaten-at-Santa-Ynez
Featured Articles1 day ago

Callum Walsh, Umar Dzambekov and Cain Sandoval Remain Unbeaten at Santa Ynez

Vito-Mielnicki-Whitewashes-Kamil-Gardzielik-Before-the-Home-Folks-in-Newark
Featured Articles1 day ago

Vito Mielnicki Jr Whitewashes Kamil Gardzielik Before the Home Folks in Newark

Avila-Perspective-Chap-331-Callum-Walsh-Brian-Norman-Galal-Yafai-and-More
Featured Articles3 days ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 331: Callum Walsh, Brian Norman, Galal Yafai and More

Brian-Norman-Jr-Bombs-Out-Jin-Sasaki-with-a-Frightful-Left-Hook
Featured Articles4 days ago

Brian Norman Jr Bombs Out Jin Sasaki with a Frightful Left Hook

A-Fight-Fan-and-Teremoana-Samson-Junior-Leon-Teremoana
Featured Articles5 days ago

A Fight Fan and Teremoana Samson Junior Leon Teremoana

Catching-Up-with-Clay-Moyle-Who-Talks-About-His-Massive-Collection-of-Boxing-Books
Featured Articles1 week ago

Catching Up with Clay Moyle Who Talks About His Massive Collection of Boxing Books

Richardson-Hitchins-Batters-and-Stops-George-Kambosos-at-Madison-Square-Garden
Featured Articles1 week ago

Richardson Hitchins Batters and Stops George Kambosos at Madison Square Garden 

Avila-Perspective-Chap-330-Matchroom-in-New-York-plus-the-latest-on-Canelo-Crawford
Featured Articles1 week ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 330: Matchroom in New York plus the Latest on Canelo-Crawford

The-Shafting-of-Blair-the-Flair-Cobbs-a-Familar-Thread-in-the-Cruelest-Sport
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

The Shafting of Blair “The Flair” Cobbs, a Familiar Thread in the Cruelest Sport

Opetaia-and-Nakatani-Crush-Overmatched-Foes-Capping-Off-a-Wild-Boxing-Weekend
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Opetaia and Nakatani Crush Overmatched Foes, Capping Off a Wild Boxing Weekend

Fabio-Wardley-Comes-from-Behind-to-KO-Justis-Huni
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Fabio Wardley Comes from Behind to KO Justis Huni  

Pacquiao-is-Back,-Fabio-in-England-and-More.jpg
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap 329: Pacquiao is Back, Fabio in England and More

Delving-Into-'Hoopa'-With-Notes-on-Books-by-George-Plimpton-and-Joyce-Carol-Oates
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Delving into ‘Hoopla’ with Notes on Books by George Plimpton and Joyce Carol Oates

Remembering-the-Under-Appreciated-Body-Snatcher-Mike-McCallum,-a-Conusmmate-Pro
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Remembering the Under-Appreciated “Body Snatcher” Mike McCallum, a Consummate Pro    

A-Night-of-Mismatches-Turns-Topsy-Turvy-at-Mandalay-Bay-Resendiz-Shocks-Plant
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

A Night of Mismatches Turns Topsy-Turvy at Mandalay Bay; Resendiz Shocks Plant

Results-and-Recaps-from-Las-Vegas-Where-Melikuziev-Nipped-Fulghum-in-a-Fierce-Fight
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Results and Recaps from Las Vegas Where Melikuziev Nipped Fulghum in a Fierce Battle

Avila-Perspective-Chap-228-Viva-Las-Vegas-Back-in-the-Boxing-Spotlight
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 228: Viva Las Vegas, Back in the Boxing Spotlight

Vinny-Paz-is-Going-into-the-Boxing-Hall-of-Fame-Hey-why-Not-Roger-Mayweather?
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Vinny Paz is Going into the Boxing Hall of Fame; Hey, Why Not Roger Mayweather?

Newspaperman-Playwright-Author-Bobby-Cassidy-Jr-Commemorates-his-Fighting-Father
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Newspaperman/Playwright/Author Bobby Cassidy Jr Commemorates His Fighting Father

Ekow-Essuman-Upsets-Josh-Taylor-and-Moses-Itauma-Blasts-Out-Mike-Balogun-in-Glasgow
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Ekow Essuman Upsets Josh Taylor and Moses Itauma Blasts Out Mike Balogun in Glasgow

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending