Knockout Nation: Foreman Reality Show! Abraham Silences Miranda; Ward Prevails; The Thai Tyson Tribute

 

Abraham

Silences Miranda

 

Trash talkers have two extremes that befall them

throughout their careers. When they back up their tough talk, they receive

grudging respect for sealing the deal and admiration for the entertainment they

bring to their respective sport.

 

When they lose, they’re derided as loudmouths who

finally got what was coming to them. In boxing, getting your comeuppance using

comes in the form of brutal punching separating your brain from your senses. Heavy handed slugger Edison Miranda (30-3, 26 KOs) received just that, as

Arthur Abraham (27-0, 22 KOs) tore through him in four rounds on June 22.

 

Round one saw Abraham immediately establish

distance with his jab at mid-range. The punch landed regularly and kept Abraham

at a safe distance to see Miranda’s powerful but wide-swinging shots. Whenever

Miranda would breach Abraham’s comfort zone of mid-range, Abraham utilized a

high earmuff guard ala Winky Wright to pick off his opponent’s shots.

 

In the last minute, Abraham scored with sharp left

and right hooks to the head and body before immediately jumping back out of

range, forcing Miranda to chase and wing shots as the round ended.

 

Round two saw a more aggressive Miranda, who

bullied Abraham to the ropes and worked the body with hard, thudding hooks.

Abraham kept his cool and focused on protecting his head with his gloves, and trying

to pick off Miranda’s body attack with his elbows. Miranda continued trying to

find openings, but could not penetrate his opponent’s defense for a clear shot

even after being goaded and waved in by Abraham.

 

After shooting a wild low blow, Miranda was warned

despite winning the round on activity. Round three saw both men challenge each other’s

toughness as they exchanged power shots in the center of the ring. The

difference was Abraham was not getting hit due to his tight guard, while

Miranda’s defense was constantly being broken by jabs and hooks.

 

With 38 seconds left in the round, Abraham buckled

Miranda’s knees with a right counter over his jab. In his zeal to rush in and

retaliate, Miranda ate an uppercut and a left hook on the inside to close out the

round.

 

Abraham pressed his advantage in round four, and

now used his superior technique to drop Miranda with a counter right on the

inside with 2:38 remaining in the round.

 

Clearly stunned, Miranda rose and attempted to

clear his head by jabbing and moving away. Unfortunately for Miranda, his

greatest weakness is he cannot fight going backwards. And the Columbian made

the crucial mistake of going straight back right into a crashing left hook

which floored him again.

 

Miranda rose for a second at the count of five,

only for Abraham to ruin him with another leaping left hook to cause the

referee to stop the bout with 1:45 remaining.

 

The huge win for Abraham clears up questions about

their foul-filled 2006 encounter (which Abraham also won), and opens the door

for a possible showdown with Kelly Pavlik. While Abraham is the better inside

fighter, Pavlik holds the advantage on the outside with his superior jab and

straighter punches.

 

Hopefully that fight can be made by the end of the

year.

 

Round 1

Round 2 (no sound)

Round 3 (no sound)

Round 4 (no sound)

Andre Ward

Prevails

 

Prospect Andre Ward (16-0, 11 KOs) endured a rough

start against a game Jerson Ravelo (18-3, 12 KOs) before coming back to score

an 8th round stoppage.

 

Due to a small ring, Ravelo found success early by

roughing up Ward and punching with his naturally smaller opponent.

 

However by the middle rounds Ward began to

establish distance and used his superior skill to set traps. When Ravelo would mis-time

distance and punch from too far away, Ward would punish him with straight right

hands.

 

By round eight, Ravelo was spent and dropped hard

by a clean overhand right. After a barrage in the corner, Ravelo’s corner threw

in the towel to prevent more punishment.

 

With the win, Ward picks up the NABO super

middleweight crown and goes eight rounds for the first time in his career.

 

Pacquiao

Goes for Portion of the Lightweight Title This Weekend

 

In a perfect world, pound for pound elite Manny

Pacquiao would be facing Joel Casamayor or Nate Campbell for their portions of

the lightweight crown.

 

Instead, he’ll be facing tough but limited David

Diaz this Saturday June 28 on PPV. While definitely not worth the price tag,

it’ll be interesting to see how the Pacman handles the new weight class and

whether there’s any chance he’s overlooking Diaz with a possible showdown with

Ricky Hatton looming for next year.

 

Still, Manny’s skill level should carry him

through this bout. Expect a somewhat sloppy, but clear points win for Pacquiao.

 

George

Foreman Debuts Reality TV  Show

 

This show would’ve been great with the surly,

smack your momma just for living George Foreman of the ‘70s. These days, who

knows if Foreman’s hokey, affable dad act can translate well into reality TV

show stardom? Family Foreman debuts on TV Land on July 16… you be the judge.

 

Hey, stranger things have happened. Someone call up

Tyson.

Throwback

Fighter of the Week: “The Thai Tyson” Khaosai Galaxy

 

Quick, name the hardest punching super flyweight

ever. Don’t feel bad, you probably don’t know any period. But remember the name

Khaosai Galaxy.

 

Galaxy began his boxing career in 1980 and won his

first six fights before dropping a close decision in 1981. From there he went

on a string of 19 KOs in 20 fights over the next three years, culminating with

winning the WBA super flyweight title against Eusebio Espinal.

 

He defended the title 19 times in seven years, the

longest reign in the division’s history. 16 of those wins came by knockout. He

retired in 1991 and still lives in his native Thailand.

 

A southpaw, Galaxy’s immense power was generated

in his left, and his right was mostly used to set up shots. Physically, he was

very strong and compact, and was able to outmuscle his opponents.

His favorite punch was the straight left to the

midsection, which was dubbed “the left hand that drills intestines.”

 

Since he only fought once out of the Orient, and

most fighters dared not travel to his homeland to face him, Galaxy did not

defeat the beat American fighters available during his reign, and he remained

relatively unknown except by hardcore fans.

 

Galaxy’s final record stands at 49-1, 43 KOs.