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Edison Miranda: Boxing’s 2007 “Sixth Man of the Year”
By Jason Pribila: Most of the “Best of 2007” lists have been compiled with only the Boxing Writers Association of America awards still to be determined. Last year’s honorees are special because there were so many worthy nominees in each of the major categories. But one award was missing: an award for boxing’s “Sixth Man of the Year”. I would like to present that award to Edison “Pantera” Miranda.
The NBA gives its Sixth Man Award to the league’s most valuable player who comes off the bench as a substitute. To qualify, one must start more games on the bench than in the starting line-up. Boxing is the ultimate one-on-one sport, so this award would never apply to the sweet science. But if we look at Miranda’s 2007, it would make perfect sense.
Miranda’s efforts failed to earn him consideration for any major awards. Being on the receiving end of a brutal knockout in a one-sided fight rarely gets one a place on the red carpet. However, at a point when the middleweight division, HBO, and boxing in general needed him most, Edison Miranda delivered by fighting, not once but twice, against fighters who most people avoided.
When 2007 began, there was little reason to be optimistic about a boxing resurgence. The press was more focused on whether a father would train another fighter to defeat his son than they were with anything going on inside the ring. There was one exception, however; the Colombian middleweight with a ton of potential, power, and confidence; Edison Miranda.
March 3rd 2007 illustrated many of the problems that have plagued boxing in recent years. Showtime offered a can’t miss action fight between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. However, instead of celebrating a great match-up between two of boxing’s best little men, fight fans had to choose between that fight and HBO’s competing telecast of Miguel Cotto’s mis-mandatory defense against Oktal Urkal. HBO had originally planned to feature Antonio Margarito on the undercard in the hope of promoting a Cotto-Margarito PPV clash in June. But Margarito had pulled out, and HBO was stuck without a worthy co-feature. It would have been a landslide win for Showtime until Edison Miranda and Allan Green came to HBO’s rescue. Green and Miranda were two of boxing’s hottest fighters. The winner would be seen as a major threat in the middle and super-middleweight divisions.
On March 3rd, Marquez got off the deck to capture Vazquez’s junior featherweight title in a barnburner that demanded a rematch. Miranda and Green, on the other hand, failed to meet expectations. Other than landing a perfect left hook that dropped Miranda in the eighth round, Green seemed unwilling to engage. Miranda dropped Green twice in the tenth and final round. Although he didn’t get the knockout, the image of Pantera running across the ring to land one more punch did nothing to hurt the status of boxing’s newest bad-ass.
Miranda was now set to headline a July 28th HBO BAD card by taking on the Bob Arum promoted, Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik in a bout to determine the #1 challenger to Jermain Taylor’s middleweight throne. Then another HBO Championship Boxing card began to fall apart. Jermain Taylor had been slated to fight the Season 1 winner of “The Contender,” Sergio Mora. But a funny thing happened on the way to the FedEx Forum in Memphis. Mora backed out, claiming that he didn’t want to fight the champion at a site so close to his native Arkansas. Mora was replaced by junior-middleweight champion Cory Spink, whose style didn’t translate well to the box office. Once again, HBO was faced with a lackluster card for its signature fight series. And once again, Miranda came to the rescue.
With only two and a half months between fights, it was like Miranda had never left the boxing news. May 19th quickly arrived. Both fighters traded leather immediately. Leading up to the fight, Pavlik had told anyone who would listen that he would back Miranda up. I, like many, felt that this confidence would guarantee the KO that Miranda tried so hard for in his previous fight. I was wrong. Pavlik executed his game plan perfectly. His punches were straighter, his chin was solid, and Miranda wound up backing up for the first time in his career. Pavlik dropped Miranda twice in the 6th round. Steve Smoger, a referee known for giving fighters every possible chance to regain their composure, allowed Miranda to come out in the 7th round. But Edison would not finish the round.
Kelly Pavlik was now a legitimate number one contender. “This kid can fight” was the most common reaction among the media. HBO now had a marketable, undefeated fighter from the United States.
Kelly Pavlik went on to upset Jermain Taylor on a thrilling seventh round knockout to claim the middleweight championship. That fight elevated Pavlik for consideration as “Fighter of the Year”. Meanwhile, Miranda stopped Henry Porras on October 30th to finish his 2007 in the victory column. The victory helped his confidence, but left him far from where he and many others had thought he would be at year’s end.
Hopefully, 2007 was a year that the powers that be in boxing will build on. For his part, I recognize Edison Miranda as boxing’s 6th Man of the Year. There is no denying the talent and star power of Kelly Pavlik, But we wouldn’t be be gearing up for Pavlik – Taylor II on February 16th if not for Edison Miranda.
As for Miranda, on January 11th he delivered a right hand that left David Banks sprawled out on the second rope. Two weeks into the new year, and he’s already positioned himself to be in the mix with a potential June showdown against undefeated Jean Pascal. His 2008 is looking bright.
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