A knockout doubleheader on ESPN’s Friday night at the fights

A knockout doubleheader on ESPN’s Friday night at the fights

By John J. Raspanti, Doghouse Boxing (July 27, 2011) Doghouse Boxing
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By John J. Raspanti, Doghouse Boxing: The bombs will be detonating on July 29 as Edison “Pantera” Miranda (34-5, 29 KOs) mixes it up with unknown Yordanis Despaigne (8-1, 4 KOs ) at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The co-main event features Victor Cayo and Lamont Peterson battling in a 12-round junior welterweight eliminator.

Miranda moved up into the light heavyweight division after his devastating loss to Lucian Bute in 2010. Last month he defeated Rayco Saunders on the undercard of the Carl Froch/Glen Johnson Super Six fight in Atlantic City.

He’s very comfortable as a light heavyweight telling Fightnews.com, “I feel great at 175lbs. I can finally work hard on boxing during my training camp and not have to worry about losing weight. I have always felt strong in the gym until I had to struggle to lose the final 10-15lbs. Now, I don’t have to worry about losing muscle to make weight.”

Miranda knows that at 30 years old time could be running out. His loses have been to all top ranked fighters.

“I am ready to prove to the world that Edison Miranda is back. Everyone saw what happened to David Banks when I came back at 168lbs. I am even stronger at 175lbs”.

His opponent Despaigne is coming off the first loss of his brief career. His nine career fights suggest the night could end early. Despaigne disagrees pointing to an amateur career where he defeated the likes of Jean Pascal and Tomasz Adamek and lost a hotly contested contest to Andre Dirrell.

The-31 year-old Cuban feels he has the style to defeat Miranda telling BoxingScene.com, “He’s a very good fighter. He’s fought a lot of great guys, but it’s my time. I’ll stick to the game plan and do what I have to do, and I’ll win”.

The 12-round International Boxing Federation (IBF) bout between Cayo and Peterson could produce the next opponent for WBA and IBF champion Amir Khan. Cayo’s (26-1, 18 KOs ) only blemish on a otherwise sparkling record is a knockout loss to tough Marcos Maidana last year. He rebounded from that loss to win his next two fights by knockout.

He has nothing but respect for Peterson.

“Lamont is a warrior. He will come to fight, he said. “He's a real professional and a very good boxer with a lot of heart. He gives everything in the ring, so I expect to have a very grueling fight and the best man will win. I have a lot of respect for Lamont.”

Peterson’s record (28-1, 14 KOs ) is equally impressive. His only loss was a 12 round shellacking by Timothy Bradley. Peterson fought reigning welterweight champion Victor Ortiz to a thrilling draw a few months ago. He knows what he’s getting in Cayo.

“Overall he is a very good fighter who is not lacking in anything. He has good speed and power, avoids punches well, and works upstairs and downstairs well. He uses the jab well. He's well-rounded and, overall, a solid, very good fighter”.

Warrior Boxing Promotions in conjunction with Blue Wave Group is promoting the bouts. Ticket prices range from $250 for VIP tables, $150 for ringside seats to as low as $20 for general admission. Please call 877-551-7778 for all ticket information.

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-- Questions/comments j ohnboxing1@hotmail.com

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