Power Plus Potential; What the Fists of Edison Miranda are Loaded with


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Power Plus Potential; What the Fists of Edison Miranda are Loaded with

By Phil Santos, Overhandright.com (Jan 13, 2008) Doghouse Boxing

There is nothing a fight fan respects more than a warrior who gives everything he has regardless of the situation or who he is in with. Guys like Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti are admired for more than just their winning records and epic battles. It is their unrelenting will to never give up no matter how much the deck is stacked against them. There is no quit, no cruising to a decision, no knowing when to say when with Edison “Pantera” Miranda. He knows only one speed, he fights only one way, and that is hard and fast inspiring fear in opponents and awe from spectators. Edison Miranda is flat out electric.

Miranda shed his prospect status in 2006 when he became the first, and to this day only, man to knockout Howard Eastman in their IBF title eliminator bout. He followed up his impressive victory over Eastman by traveling to Germany to take on IBF title holder Arthur Abraham in what would be Miranda’s first World Title shot. Pantera lost a disputed Unanimous Decision despite having broken Abraham’s jaw in the 4th round and after being deducted a total of 5 points for fouls. Abraham fought well but the fact that he was in Germany appeared to have an effect on the scoring and in allowing him to continue in spite of spitting up a serious amount of blood.

Following his first defeat Miranda went right back to doing what he does best. He wasted no time with tune ups and jumped right in with the dangerous 20-1 (16) Willie Gibbs. It was over before it began with Miranda punishing Gibbs with a wicked overhand right before the end of the 1st round. Pantera closed the deal by overwhelming Gibbs along the ropes and dropping him for the count. Gibbs struggled in attempt to recover in time but was counted out at the 2:59 mark of round one. The Gibbs knockout marked the 17th time that Miranda had scored a 1st round knockout over the course of 28 pro fights.

To his credit Miranda has always searched out the best challenger available, a path which led him to undefeated Super

Middleweight Allan Green. In Green he would face a skilled fighter with plenty of power. In what was seen as a surprise Miranda displayed sound technical skills and thoroughly out-boxed Green. Things were proceeding perfectly for Miranda until Green landed a flush left hook flooring the rugged Colombian for the first time in his career. Pantera shook off the knockdown, survived the round, and turned the tables dropping Green twice in the 10th. Green barely survived the final round and Pantera showed great heart by responding to his first career knockdown with such authority.

His impressive win over Green paved the way to a WBC title eliminator for the right to tangle with then champion Jermain Taylor. The one obstacle left standing in the way was a little known undefeated contender by the name of Kelly Pavlik. In what would be the most disappointing performance of his career Miranda endured a brutal knockout defeat. Pavlik went on to destroy Jermain Taylor in a title fight that Miranda was so sure he would be a part of, while Miranda was left on the outside looking in.

Edison Miranda is now campaigning at Super Middleweight and acknowledges that trying to make the 160 lb Middleweight limit was having detrimental effects on his body. Admirably he offered no excuses and credits Pavlik with being the better fighter on that night but now hungers for another shot at him. “I want the winner of Taylor/Pavlik” Miranda told ESPN following his spectacular kayo of David Banks on the January 11th edition of Friday Night Fights. Miranda dismissed a match with his most recent rival Jean Pascal after Pascal had shown difficulty in dealing with a less talented Omar Pittman earlier the same evening.

Miranda now has two fights under his belt at Super Middle and for some reason hasn’t cracked the Ring Magazine top 10 within the division. A fact that seems befuddling given Allan Green, a fighter he has beaten, is ranked #7 and Jean Pascal, a fighter who doesn’t appear near his level is ranked #10. Miranda has a strong fan base and his popularity continues to increase with every fighter that he ices in the ring. A big fight with a highly rated opponent shouldn’t be too far off. A few interesting candidates include Jean Pascal, Sakio Bika, Carl Froch, Denis Inkin, Librado Andrade and a rematch with Allan Green all of whom are currently rated above Edison Miranda.