By Cliff Rold
As noted on Friday, “two world-class warriors are going to hit and get hit. Hard.” On Saturday night, that’s exactly what happened. Unfortunately for the defeated, Edison Miranda’s hard shots rifled off of the body; Arthur Abraham found chin.
At least it can be said there was no controversy in the ring this time as the 28-year old German-based IBF Middleweight titlist Abraham (27-0, 22 KO) of Armenia made his U.S. debut a smashing success by smashing right through the 27-year old Colombian Miranda (30-3, 26 KO) in just four rematch rounds. It didn’t turn out to be the fight of the week many had hoped for, but in the long run Abraham’s performance was more important than that. It made an emphatic statement to a wide U.S. audience about what had before been obvious only to Boxing’s most devoted fans.
The statement: Arthur Abraham is the biggest threat to World Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KO) and Pavlik-Abraham is the only fight that matters at 160 lbs.
Let’s go to the report card.
Speed - Pre-Fight Grades: Abraham B; Miranda B/Post Fight: B+; B
Power - Pre-Fight Grades: Miranda A; Abraham B+/Post Fight: A; A
Defense - Pre-Fight Grades: Abraham B+; Miranda B-/Post Fight: Same
Intangibles - Pre-Fight Grades: Abraham B+; Miranda B/Post Fight: A; B-
Having been through the ringer once before, both men started the bout at a slightly slower clip, but that said more about Miranda than it did Abraham. Abraham is rarely a fast start while Miranda is typically a whirl of activity. It reflected an ingrained memory of the first fight for both, and was a bad sign for the challenger. Miranda let his hands loose to the body well and the echo affect was a reminder of the hammers he carries in both hands, but he was more tentative in going upstairs.
Why wouldn’t he have been? In the first fight, he struggled to solve the high guard of Abraham; in the second the same was true early on and the body work wasn’t doing much damage. Worse for Miranda, the couple of rights he did land to the head of Abraham were shaken off. As expected, neither man was winning with the speed game, but the ability to shoot quickly through available openings allowed Abraham to get home with the power he’s beginning to display on a routine basis. This marked the Armenian’s fifth straight by knockout and in each he has landed the sort of shots that highlight reels were made for.
There was an obvious mental element to the fight going in. Miranda had not only the memory of a beating from Kelly Pavlik last year to confront; he also had to figure out what to do with a fighter whose jaw he broke in two places and still could not defeat. Abraham on the other hand spoke with confidence on those grounds, noting that in the worst place he’d ever been, he still won.
The first right hand that hurt Miranda in the third, and Abraham’s lack of pursuit, spoke volumes in light of the finish. He was willing to wait for what he appeared to feel was clear: the openings would come and he didn’t have to force them. It was the sort of ring maturity and perspective that says volumes about a fighter who is peaking physically and mentally.
That visible peak is what makes Pavlik-Abraham so must-see and must-have right now; as par for the course, the wait-and-build merely begins. It was known before the fight that a showdown was not in the cards for either man’s next fight. It’s probably not the best business to go straight at each other anyways. America just found out about Abraham; letting a multi-continental audience mull it over for at least one more bout on each side makes sense. As long as neither slips up, and they should not given what is out there at 160, the payoff for fans should be worth it. Lots of fights are pegged as potential Fights of the Year…this is one that should live up to it.
For Miranda, it is back to the drawing board but his head should not hang too low. He has lost to only two men and those men are among the best fighters in the world. There is no shame in losing to world class foes. Miranda would still, after some rebuilding, be an entertaining challenge for a Jeff Lacy, Jermain Taylor, or Canadian-based Super Middleweight titlist Lucien Bute. He’d also be an excellent gauge for former U.S. Olympians Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell. Guys with Miranda’s power are only ever one knockout away from being back in the main event no matter their most recent loss.
In the end, the fight didn’t deliver the A+ in the ring most hoped for but it did offer A+ potential for tomorrow. Nothing wrong with that.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
