Abraham-Miranda II is on?

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 16, 2008 2:42 PM EDT

Rafael is talking like it's a done deal (ESPN Insider):

Got to give huge props to Showtime for nailing down the Arthur Abraham-Edison Miranda rematch for June 21 against long odds. Their first fight, for a middleweight belt, was great, but it took place in Germany, so few Americans saw it. The rematch, at 166 pounds, should be another excellent fight. It's even a better matchup than Miranda-Mikkel Kessler, which Miranda's handlers thought they had made until Kessler pulled out after a deal had been struck.

Big risk for Abraham, I like it.

Pavlik's booked already for June 7th (Lockett) and September 27th (Rubio), maybe if Abraham beats Miranda, then takes his softie mandatory defense in the fall on a Pavlik undercard setting up Pavlik-Abraham this winter?

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very, very, very risky for King Arthur

Miranda busted his jaw last time out for the love of God. Abraham is double tough, but I also think Miranda has improved since then, while Arthur has sort of...fought hand-picked schlubs a lot of the time.

Elvin Ayala?

That said, I love it. Abraham is going balls-out to become more than a European star, and you have to give him big ups for that move. Miranda is the kind of guy who can lose, then come back and get a KO win on TV and you kind of forget he lost. Plus with Kessler backing out on him, Edison looks like king badass again.

Barring the ever-present chance of a huge Miranda knockout, I think Arthur beats this guy 10 times out of 10. The right hand always looms, but Abraham is much more skilled, and doesn't throw a bad shot himself, and it isn't as if we haven't seen Miranda beaten to a pulp before.

I like Pavlik's schedule, too, to be honest. Pavlik-Abraham isn't going to happen before winter '08 or early '09, so he's keeping busy but also making sure he's not doing anything foolish to risk what will be a really good payday against what would be a more than deserving challenger. And like the Lockett fight, the Rubio fight isn't exactly even steven on paper, but it does promise action.

by SC on Apr 16, 2008 3:56 PM EDT 0 recs

the aforementioned mandatory softie

was Giovanni Lorenzo, who's scheduled to be on the Abraham-Miranda undercard, and you'd think with the 'exposure' would be Abraham's fall opponent.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 16, 2008 4:07 PM EDT 0 recs

160-168

Well, seeing this at 168 might be different, I guess. Abraham gets to keep his belt if he loses. Miranda gets to keep talking, win or lose.

But if Abraham wins, does that mean he'll also flee to 168? What's this guy's angle? And if Miranda catches him with a humdinger and sends him into outer space, will Abraham even dare face Kelly Pavlik at 160? Or will his title get buried in the Euro-drawer?

I wish Pavlik/Abraham would happen in '08, at 160, but I'd bet serious money its not going to happen until '09 - or maybe never.

by jrok on Apr 16, 2008 11:33 PM EDT 0 recs

fight'll be at 166

Abaham's not going to 168 -- he's doing this because it's a fight against a guy who's a name in America.

by SC on Apr 16, 2008 11:38 PM EDT up 0 recs

Right

Right, no, I get that part. And, I definitely "get" that Miranda wants the weight up as a fig leaf for getting housed by Pavlik. I guess I just never seem to have a dag-blamed notion of how Abraham's camp sees his career unfolding.

It might be a cultural difference, but Arthur already HAD this fight as a title defense. It seems to me that, if anything, if he was ultimately angling for a uni with Kelly Pavlik he'd definetly want some tune-ups with guys that Pavlik didn't totally outclass, both for business and experience reasons. Especially not with somebody that broke your damn jaw! The risk-reward factor seems totally out of whack fo me here.

I've had a few tonight, so I might not be thinking straight.

by jrok on Apr 17, 2008 12:51 AM EDT up 0 recs