Miranda vs Green rematch, winner to replace Taylor?

Possible showdown on the Ward vs Kessler undercard http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4574847&name=rafael_dan Goossen's idea on how to replace Taylor in Super Six Sunday, October 18, 2009 | Print Entry Although nothing has been officially determined regarding the status of Jermain Taylor going forward in the Super Six World Boxing Classic in the wake of his brutal 12th-round knockout to Arthur Abraham on Saturday night in Berlin, it won't come as any surprise if Taylor drops out. After suffering his fourth loss in his past five fights, including three by punishing knockout, Taylor is hospitalized in Germany suffering from a severe concussion and short-term memory loss. He is expected to remain there for several days, according to his promoter, Lou DiBella. Frankly, Taylor probably should not continue in the tournament for the good of his health. Kelly Pavlik relieved Taylor of the middleweight championship on a scary seventh-round knockout in September 2007. Three fights later, Carl Froch rallied for a big knockout win to retain his super middleweight belt with 14 seconds left in April in a fight Taylor had been leading. And then Abraham, seemingly en route to a routine decision victory, landed a flush right hand to Taylor's chin and put him to sleep yet again. Taylor's next fight in the tournament's Group Stage 2 would be in the spring against Andre Ward followed by a fall Group Stage 3 fight against Mikkel Kessler. Taylor, the longest shot to win the six-man modified round-robin when the field was announced, would certainly be an underdog in both fights with little chance to reach the semifinals. All along, Showtime has mentioned Allan Green -- who, like Taylor, is promoted by DiBella -- as a possible first alternate in the event a fighter dropped out of the tournament. Under the master contract for the tournament, it is Showtime's call when it comes to designating any replacement fighter, who would enter the tournament with the same number of points earned by the tournament's lowest point-earner through the same number of bouts as the departing fighter. That would mean if somebody replaces Taylor, he would enter the field with 0 points. The four highest point-earners advance to the semis. For what it's worth, Showtime also has the contractual right to continue the tournament without naming a replacement. Green is a solid contender, but looked terrible in his last fight when he won a lethargic decision against Tarvis Simms on Oct. 2, a fight Showtime televised on "ShoBox" as a way to keep Green warm in the bullpen in case he was needed for the tournament. But his performance certainly didn't turn any heads or help his case that he should be the clear choice as a replacement. However, Dan Goossen, who promotes Ward, had an interesting idea about how to pick a replacement if one is needed. Along with Seminole Warriors Boxing, Goossen co-promotes Edison Miranda, who owns a clear 2007 unanimous-decision victory against Green. Miranda has also faced two tournament entrants and gone 0-3. He faced Abraham twice, losing a highly controversial decision to him in a middleweight title bout in 2006 and getting knocked out in a super middleweight nontitle fight in the 2008 rematch. In May, he lost a decision to Ward. What Goossen proposed to me Sunday was that Green (29-1, 20 KOs) and Miranda (32-4, 28 KOs) hook up in a rematch to determine a replacement (if one is needed) on the Nov. 21 Showtime telecast featuring the Kessler-Ward Super Six fight in the main event. It's not the worst idea I've heard, even though Miranda has already lost to a quarter of the field. But why should Green get a pass into the tournament when Miranda owns that clear decision against him? Although Miranda is a limited fighter, one thing's for sure: He has the power to knock anyone out and he makes fun, exciting fights, which is what we all want to see in the tournament. Miranda, who is now being trained by Goossen's brother, the underrated Joe Goossen, is scheduled to fight Francisco Sierra (20-2, 19 KOs) on Thursday in Lemoore, Calif. Dan Goossen said he'd like to have Miranda go through with the fight and then do a rematch with Green next month.