Anyone with a good memory remember who was the betting favorite Pavlik vs Miranda?

[Cheek busting]

At the time both were undefeated extremely hard-hitting prospects.

They were matched on the undercard of a Jermain Taylor fight, and the winner was supposed to give Taylor a real test from a powerful hard-hitting MW. We all saw what happened when he took that first test vs Pavlik.

But going into the Pavlik/Miranda fight, it seemed like if anything, HBO was "expecting" Miranda to win based on how they were quoting him talking about fighting Taylor next, and it's almost as if they thought it was a forgone conclusion they would be showing Miranda vs Taylor in the fall.

[TintaBoricua]

2007 was the year I started watching boxing, so really I'm a newbie when it comes some posters on here that have been watching since the early 90's.

What I CAN tell you is that Miranda most likely WAS the favorite. He had gotten more exposure and if I'm not mistaken had only one loss going into that fight; a dubious decision against an undefeated Arthur Abraham who had his jaw broken and kept fighting. Miranda if I'm not mistaken was deducted several points in the process as well.

Kelly Pavlik was undefeated, but largely untested. Doug Fischer had mentioned in "Countdown to Pavlik/Taylor" that Pavlik had gone from prospect to contender to champion literally in the span of three fights.

He knocked out a decent opponent in Zertuche, but more importantly the WAY the knockout looked was eye-catching: Zertuche just froze against the ropes hands down, head tilted down as if he had gone to sleep standing up and before the referee was able to step in, Pavlik threw his best punch again, a straight right that dropped him like a sack of potatoes.

You heard it yourself. The commentators during that broadcast remark about Pavlik stating that HE was going to back Miranda up and they say it almost dismissingly, as if that is just a pre-fight buzz phrases.

Not only did that happen, but Pavlik ended up beating up and stopping Miranda in what is perhaps the worst beating he took in his career if I'm not mistaken. And when Steve Smoger is in there, he's going to step in when you're losing an arm, a leg, five teeth, and an eye. Miranda got blown out and Pavlik's stock skyrocketed earning him a shot against Jermain Taylor. Needless to say, what happened between these two fighters is history and where they are serves as a cautionary tale that if your heart and mind is not in the game, it would be best to stay out.

[bigdunny1]

Miranda. The hype on him was huge at that time and Pavik beating him is what made his name and springboard his entire career.