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.