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By Cliff Rold - It was brutal, dirty, bloody, controversial, thrilling. It was also, if you live in the United States, more myth than reality. HBO displayed a few minutes of highlights months later, but the fight itself has been relegated to YouTube and trading since it took place at the Rittal Arena in Wetzlar, Hessen, Germany on September 23, 2006.
That will all change this week. Saturday’s non-title rematch between German IBF Middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham (26-0, 21 KO) and power-punching Edison Miranda (30-2, 26 KO) will be taking place in the U.S. and broadcast on Showtime. Abraham is currently seen as the biggest threat at 160 lbs. to World Champion Kelly Pavlik, and for good reason. He brings a proven chin, hard jab, and crippling power into the ring.
That doesn’t make a showdown inevitable. Abraham’s toughest fight by far, and so far, came against the then undefeated Miranda; the wild Colombian can be expected to provide a second helping of hell. It’s the sort of match that can set the table for Abraham in his quest to become the rare German-market battler to garner a serious audience abroad, or send him back home to the obscurity of protected fare like Sven Ottke and Zsolt Erdei. Overall, it is only the second time Abraham has traveled in his career and Showtime is doing right by the fans, preparing for his arrival by replaying Abraham-Miranda I throughout the week.
Writing for Pedro Fernandez’s Ring Talk at the time, a viewing of the original German broadcast caused this scribe to opine that it “might well have been the dirtiest fight of the year…it was also entertaining as hell.” Having not seen it again since, this seemed the perfect time to pull the tape to see if the fight lives up to the memory. [details]
That will all change this week. Saturday’s non-title rematch between German IBF Middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham (26-0, 21 KO) and power-punching Edison Miranda (30-2, 26 KO) will be taking place in the U.S. and broadcast on Showtime. Abraham is currently seen as the biggest threat at 160 lbs. to World Champion Kelly Pavlik, and for good reason. He brings a proven chin, hard jab, and crippling power into the ring.
That doesn’t make a showdown inevitable. Abraham’s toughest fight by far, and so far, came against the then undefeated Miranda; the wild Colombian can be expected to provide a second helping of hell. It’s the sort of match that can set the table for Abraham in his quest to become the rare German-market battler to garner a serious audience abroad, or send him back home to the obscurity of protected fare like Sven Ottke and Zsolt Erdei. Overall, it is only the second time Abraham has traveled in his career and Showtime is doing right by the fans, preparing for his arrival by replaying Abraham-Miranda I throughout the week.
Writing for Pedro Fernandez’s Ring Talk at the time, a viewing of the original German broadcast caused this scribe to opine that it “might well have been the dirtiest fight of the year…it was also entertaining as hell.” Having not seen it again since, this seemed the perfect time to pull the tape to see if the fight lives up to the memory. [details]
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