Miranda vs. Gibbs Recap

by Matt Miller on Dec 17, 2006 12:50 AM EST in Boxing News Analysis

I didn't bring my laptop, so I couldn't live blog this match, but there isn't much to say, anyway. First round knockout by Miranda. Gibbs went down with one good blow ... to the forehead. Yes, that's how strong Miranda seems to be. Note that HBO was hyping Gibbs' chin and staying power before the match. Not so, tonight.

This was one of those fights that ended so fast it was hard to get much of a sense of what was going on (aside from the fact that Edison Miranda really is as strong as his fight against Abraham would suggest).

Kellerman did the post-fight interview and pushed for a fight with Jermain Taylor, until Miranda can get Abraham to fight him in the States (assuming that will happen). Miranda said he wants Abraham the most, but only if the fight is in the States. He said he would love to fight Taylor meanwhile. And he would, it would seem after this fight, at the very least have a puncher's chance.

In case you missed it, Miranda's one loss was a highly controversial fight in Germany, in which the judges awarded the fight to his opponent, Arthur Abraham, even though it was a lopsided fight and Miranda actually broke Abraham's jaw in two places. Abraham wanted to quit, but his corner encouraged him on, and he fought, bloody-mouthed and bobble-jawed, in an impressive if brutal display of determination. Miranda had no less than five points deducted by the German judges, a couple of which were legit, but many, not. Most thought Miranda was robbed. He wants payback.

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thanks

We actually ended up leaving at 10:30 tonight and I thought, "Wow, I should have just watched the card and hoped for a first round KO in the main event." Go figure.

by Scott Christ on Dec 17, 2006 5:38 AM EST reply actions

Correction: Litzau-Hernandez

I think you're confusing the Litzau-Hernandez fight with another one, Matt. It didn't actually go the distance. This is what happened: Hernandez knocked Litzau down in Round One. Then Litzau adjusted and proceeded to win six rounds in a row (from the second to the seventh). In the eight, Hernandez caught Litzau with an overhand right and knocked him out. It was a hell of a comeback. Litzau was ahead on all three cards 68-64 at the time of the stoppage.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 17, 2006 11:56 AM EST reply actions

Major Screw Up

Sorry about that. Fixed.

I was watching a bunch of On Demand fights after the match and indeed confused these.

by Matt Miller on Dec 17, 2006 3:26 PM EST reply actions

Saturday's BAD card

First of all, Litzau learned a major lesson on why you should keep your left hand up at all times. One would think he would have learned from the 1st round knockdown that he should be keeping the left hand up. However, I can understand how he thought he was ahead on the cards (which I agree with) and that Hernandez was losing steam, therefore, defense was an afterthought. Also, Litzau seemed to be going for the knockout as he threw the kitchen sink at Hernandez, who has a solid chin and showed plenty of heart in this one. Kudos to Hernandez for a dynamite kayo and here's to hoping that Litzau recovers from this loss and steps his game up and comes back strong next time out.

Miranda wasn't able to show us a whole lot in his fight. The shot he hit Gibbs with didn't seem that hard, and Gibbs seemed like he was going to be able to beat the count. It was hard to tell since I was watching it on TV, but Gibbs seemed to either not know where he was or he could've beaten the count but just quit. All things considered, Miranda would make for an exciting opponent against the top middleweights and we would get a better idea of how he would fare against the top competition in that division.

On a side note: Gibbs looks ridiculous with that gladiator mask on. Maybe that's why Bernard Hopkins doesn't associate with him.

by The Rattlesnake on Dec 18, 2006 9:52 AM EST reply actions

BAD

Litzau: Not only should he have kept his left up, he should have also gone to the body more often. He seemed to be head-hunting the whole time, and ignoring Hernandez's body. Honestly, I think Litzau would have KO'ed Hernandez had he just gone downstairs more often.

I kind of feel bad for the kid. It was obvious he was ahead in the fight, and he would've won a unanimous decision had he stayed away from Hernandez. But, the more I've thought about it, it seems to me that the kid just wanted to make a splash on his HBO debut, and I don't blame him for it. He wanted to give the fans an exciting fight. Just a few months ago, Mayweather got booed and criticised for the way he closed out the fight against Baldomir (or, rather, for the way he DIDN'T close out the fight). Earlier this month, Taylor did a similar thing against Ouma, fighting the last four rounds on cruise-control. (This, I think, can be partly attributed to the new WBC open-scoring experiment, which I absolutely hate). Taylor knew he was ahead on the scorecards, and didn't want to take any risks. I think Litzau simply wasn't content to do this. He gambled, and lost, and probably learned a valuable lesson in the process. From one perspective, it was a stupid move because he had the fight won. But, on the other hand, he made it an exciting fight. I'm glad he didn't run a la Mayweather. Plus, hypothetically, had he been the one to score the KO in the 8th, what would we be criticising him for not having taken the easy way out? Even in defeat, I think he proved to be a very watchable fighter, and I expect to see him on TV again in 2007.

As for Gibbs, I don't think he knew where he was after Miranda landed that shot. Actually, he seemed to think he was standing when he was actually still on his knees. He protested the stoppage while he was still down.

On a sidenote, he did look ridiculous in that gladiator mask. But, come on, how ridiculous has Hopkins always looked in that red Executioner mask he wears? The difference, I guess, is that Hopkins can at least back it up.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 18, 2006 5:51 PM EST up reply actions

Gladiator

The gladiator look is forever stained by Floyd Mayweather's entrance against Baldomir.

by Matt Miller on Dec 18, 2006 7:25 PM EST reply actions

Kevin

Good point on Litzau trying to make a splash. I can understand that rationale. Although he should've kept his hands up and followed his corner's advice, I can see why he'd want to make a splash with the HBO exposure.

by The Rattlesnake on Dec 19, 2006 1:27 PM EST reply actions