Online betting odds vary, but they seem to average out at about 1.5 to 1 in favor of Abraham, making this an OK bet for Miranda fans (though not great). I think I’ll play it cool and sit this one out betting-wise. I would need about 1.7 to 1 to tempt me to bet on this fight (for Miranda), which should tell you what I think the outcome will be.

As a side note, for the first time in my life here, there is a pro fight in Iowa City at the fairgrounds tonight. I would normally want to go, but this fight is between two women with a combined total of about 10 pro fights between them. I seriously doubt it will beat Abraham vs. Miranda in terms of excitement. I’ve been told there is something of a women’s boxing scene here in Iowa City, but almost nothing in the way of men. The nearest place for me to catch live fights is the Quad cities.

Luckily, this will change when I move to Brooklyn in a couple weeks. I will be covering live Brooklyn action here at BLH in the near future. I also hope to parlay my website connection into interviews, etc. We’ll see how this all works out, but I am excited by the prospect.

I’m going to skip the HBO card tonight and watch a replay tomorrow or something. I just have no doubt that Berto mops the floor with Miki Rodriguez.

Well, and money.

“If Edison Miranda wins tonight, should Abraham and Miranda fight again?”

How about we see the fight first? What if it stinks but Miranda wins (unlikely, this is a good fight promise)? And Abraham fights at middleweight. Miranda does not. What a dopey question.

Here comes Raul Marquez. Might be the last time we see him on big TV.

I try not to root, but I’m rooting for Marquez. It’s not Lorenzo’s fault; it’s just that he’s in a position he hasn’t earned.

Marquez is ranked #12 by the IBF. Lorenzo is ranked #4. You figure this shit out.

Marquez swings for the body early with Lorenzo’s hands high. Stiff jab-hook from Lorenzo. Tied up and punching, now broken up. Lorenzo misses a big right, Marquez fans on a counter. Left to the body by Marquez. Vicious uppercut swing from Lorenzo, and he looks to land some more power shots upstairs. Marquez ties him up.

Slow round action-wise, lots of tactical stuff. Marquez landed more, so he takes the round.

Marquez 10-9

Marquez doesn’t want anything to do with Lorenzo’s power, but he’s not presenting Lorenzo any openings so far. There’s some good stuff from Giovanni right after I say that, pouring it on and pinning Marquez against the ropes. Uppercut swing misses, and Marquez backs him off.

Then he gets caught again with a right hand. Lorenzo is a pretty straight up-and-down fighter with what does seem like legit power. Again, though, Marquez is a faded fighter that never REALLY reached the top heights. But it’s a step up either way. And he’s doing OK so far.

Lorenzo 10-9
19-19

Lorenzo’s straight right looks like it will be the difference. But Marquez has been around the block, maybe he’ll adjust.

Marquez comes out fast, throwing bombs and trying to keep Lorenzo on his back foot. Worked the first round. Long right from Lorenzo again, doesn’t land flush. There’s another right hand, that one to the chest. Uppercut lands. Marquez just doesn’t have enough left for this guy. Lorenzo just might be legit, even though his record is spotty at best.

Bernstein thinks Lorenzo-Duddy would be “intriguing.” I think he’d kick Duddy’s ass, but it could certainly be fun as all hell.

Marquez seems a bit bedeviled by the power Lorenzo has. Giovanni seems like he’ll wear the old trial horse out.

Lorenzo 10-9
Lorenzo 29-28

Marquez with some stiff lefts, but he also ate a couple of shots in the process. Lorenzo wildly misses an uppercut, the punch he’s in love with right now. Marquez dancing, lands some good stuff, and this is what he needs to do. Big left from Marquez, and Lorenzo gets the hell out of the corner as quickly as he can. Marquez seems to have found some confidence.

Marquez invites Lorenzo to fight, taunting him blatantly, and Lorenzo badly misses a massive right hand moments later. Marquez lands a couple. Those are scoring shots. Mind games could work, and Lorenzo really has backed off since that shot in the corner.

Another good shot from Marquez. That left is working. Lorenzo eats a nasty body shot. The momentum is swinging. Marquez warned for something. Lorenzo with a body shot, but this is Marquez’s round to be sure.

Marquez 10-9
38-38

Marquez storms out, and Lorenzo catches him with a right that sends him staggering. I don’t get why Lorenzo stood there and pranced around. Why the fuck not chase the off-balance guy and unload?

Now Marquez is daring Lorenzo to fight again, and Lorenzo taunts himself. A couple of punches, and a tie-up. Second warning to Marquez—for what? I’m really not sure at all.

Lorenzo eats a left, but fires back. BIG right from Lorenzo. Right hook from Marquez. So the warnings appear to have been for holding and hitting, according to Steve Albert. Beats me—that’s always a tough one to call, considering how many guys get away with it.

Marquez is pressing, but this round has seen Lorenzo land hard counter shots. Still, Marquez is doing his thing, and that’s big for him. Right to the body by Lorenzo, picked off. Marquez hits him to the body again, left hand upstairs lands, too. Interesting round, tough to score.

Marquez 10-9
Marquez 48-47

Jab from Lorenzo, but Marquez starts hurting him with really big shots. Lorenzo is finding himself against a guy that isn’t flat-out overmatched, and I think it’s bothering him.

Left to the body, and a RIPPING right to the jaw by Marquez. Jabs are landing. Lorenzo comes with a right, but it doesn’t land square. Marquez is out-veteraning Lorenzo right now. Lorenzo is getting something of a boxing lesson.

For judges that like the action-presser, Marquez is the guy right now, and has been the entire fight. Lorenzo’s best work has been countering. Nothing wrong with counter-punchers, but they sometimes get the short end of the stick. Marquez is landing good left hands, making Lorenzo miss and frustrating him, and doing a good job overall. He’s not fighting like a 36-year old guy against a serious contender. More accurately, Lorenzo isn’t fighting like a serious contender against a 36-year old man.

Marquez punctuates the round with two excellent punches, including a hell of a left.

Marquez 10-9
Marquez 58-56

This isn’t so much surprising as it is just, you know, not exactly expected. Marquez looks good, Lorenzo doesn’t look bad, but Giovanni just isn’t doing enough. This round, though, Lorenzo does look better and a little more aggressive. That’s what he needs. He has to hurt Marquez and back him down, because it seems that Marquez is simply the better boxer and has gotten into Lorenzo’s head a little bit.

With 30 seconds left, though, it seems like Lorenzo is going to take this round. Marquez keeps getting warned, and Al Bernstein seems as perplexed as I am. Not the best round, as the crowd booing indicates.

Lorenzo 10-9
Marquez 67-66

Marquez keeps stinging him with lefts, and those are obvious scoring punches. Lorenzo has done OK and even well at times, but Marquez never lets him build momentum.

Marquez pops him with another 1-2, including yet another straight left hand. Marquez is winning yet another round, but then Lorenzo knocks the piss out of him with a big shot. Marquez keeps moving ahead though. Marquez hurts him with a left—he will not back down. We’re on our way to a mild upset.

Marquez 10-9
Marquez 77-75

Marquez is ahead on all the press row cards. You can’t argue—he’s done a great job, and is exposing Giovanni Lorenzo. Lorenzo, also, has never been past eight rounds before.

Marquez keeps hammering away to the body, and Lorenzo finally lands an uppercut, followed by a borderline low shot that goes unnoticed by the referee. Nice jab from Marquez, counter from Lorenzo. Uppercut again misses, and Marquez lands his. Lorenzo finally goes to the body a little bit.

Lorenzo gets a talking-to for clinching up. Marquez back to the body. Lorenzo is doing a lot of holding. He seems a bit befuddled, if you will.

Two rights and a long left from Marquez. Lorenzo looks tired. Borderline low shot again by Lorenzo on an uppercut. Marquez continues to control the action, keeping Lorenzo backing down, and just doing his job. We’re seeing a professional and a veteran pick apart a hype-job.

Marquez 10-9
Marquez 87-84

Big left from Marquez. Yes. Again. Body work from Marquez. Yes. Again.

Marquez is on his way to win No. 41. Marquez has a cut, might have come from a clash of heads. That’s bleeding pretty well. I really hope we don’t see some stoppage, because Marquez has fought his ass off.

Ripping right from Lorenzo, right to the chest. There’s a blatant headbutt from Lorenzo, and he’s penalized a point. Lorenzo is fighting like a chump. Jorge Alonso is PISSED.

Marquez just GOES RIGHT THE FUCK AFTER HIM. OH, SHIT, THEY ARE BRAWLING AFTER THE BELL.

Good for Marquez. He wins another round.

Marquez 10-9
1-point deduction against Lorenzo
Marquez 97-92

Lorenzo needs a KO if you ask me. This kid is being made to look very bad.

Oh boy, they come out fast and furious again. This is getting nasty.

Nice right by Lorenzo. They continue to trade, and Marquez is just landing more good punches. It’s as simple as that. Marquez’s cut is pretty gross, but it doesn’t seem like it’s bothering him too much. He’s fought like a son of a bitch tonight, and I can’t help but love that. Lorenzo has come off like a punk too often.

Lorenzo is throwing power shots, but Marquez throws right back on him. Lorenzo’s NEVER found a consistent uppercut, and that’s been the punch he’s wanted all night.

Another exchange, again won by Marquez. Body work, and a right stuns Lorenzo. Lorenzo stagged with a jab he didn’t see coming. Big body work by Marquez. This fight is his to take home.

Marquez 10-9
Marquez 107-101

They come out fighting again. I’ll credit Lorenzo with the fact that he has not fallen apart. He’s losing handily, but he’s still working.

Marquez is throwing serious leather on some swings and misses. That’s a cat with a killer instinct. He could back off and be just fine. This fight is in the bag, or at least damn well should be.

Lorenzo isn’t pressing. He should be trying to just knock the hell out of Marquez, but he’s just not doing anything. What’s he doing? What’s the worst that could happen, he gets hurt and loses? He’s losing anyway!

Marquez continues to bleed, and this is a hell of a visual. The bloody man is winning the fight, winning the round, and just pounding away with blasting shots. Lorenzo lands a couple, but nothing that’s going to win him this fight anymore.

Swing for the fences, Giovanni. Make it interesting. Do all you can to win. (He won’t.)

20 seconds left.

10 seconds left.

We’re not seeing any KO. We have just seen an upset, and we’ll see Marquez against Arthur Abraham later this year.

Marquez 10-9
Marquez 117-110

If they rob this poor bastard, I’m going to lose it.

Lorenzo’s dancing around like he won. Shit, I don’t even think it was close. I’m serious.

114-113
114-113
114-113

RAUL MARQUEZ VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION

Oh, thank God. That fight was not 114-113 close. This would’ve been a draw across the board without the point deduction.

The judges think Lorenzo won the last round. That says enough for me about the three crazies that scored this fight.

115-112, 116-112, 115-112—115-112 is as close as I could have possibly under any circumstances seen this fight.

poor job on the scoring…Marquez won that fight by more than 1 pt.

Is there any more overused tagline for a rematch? Jesus.

I’m REALLY looking forward to this one. This is one where I go in expecting to see at least one of the 20 or so best fights of the year. There really aren’t that many.

Shocker of the year.

Abraham throwing the jab to start, Miranda staying back. Miranda with a right to the body, and now he’s the one moving forward. Big right from Miranda. Tactical first minute.

Big left hook thrown by Edison, didn’t land flush. Combo by Abraham, all four blocked. Abraham dances away from some jabs. Right hand to the glove by Miranda. Jab by Miranda. Body shot by Abraham, and Arthur is warned for a borderline low blow there.

Miranda explodes with a combo, storming on Abraham and backing him into the corner. Arthur gets out. Miranda using a fairly good jab so far. Big right by Edison. Abraham is fighting well defensively, but offensively he hasn’t opened up yet.

Miranda 10-9

Miranda starts hammering away on Abraham in the corner about a minute in, and Arthur is covered up and eating it all, then challenges Miranda to keep coming. Miranda with a great body shot.

Miranda is swinging like crazy, but not landing, and he might wear himself out.

Miranda with a low blow. Jesus, really? Abraham is really selling the hell out of it. No deduction yet. Yep, just warned.

Back to action, and Abraham looks a bit more aggressive. And now he’s just covering up tight and letting Miranda throw. The question is, can you win a round like this? My answer is no. Abraham did nothing this round. Miranda did a bit.

Miranda 10-9
Miranda 20-18

Replay of the low blow: Oh yeah. That was low. Right to the ball sack.

VICIOUS right to the jaw by Abraham about 45 seconds in, and Miranda just shakes it off. And Miranda comes back hard, but he’s still meeting mostly gloves when he’s punching. Abraham with a sneaky left.

Miranda with a left to the body in the middle of some blocked shots. This has been Abraham’s best round, but I just don’t get why he’s being SO defensive. Miranda warned for posting.

Miranda eats a right and is clearly wobbled. Why didn’t Arthur follow up there? Great left hook by Arthur. He’s showing what he can do now. Abraham’s best round, clearly.

Abraham 10-9
Miranda 29-28

Miranda caught with a counter right and left about 25 seconds into the round, and DOWN HE GOES!

Miranda up, but he’s hurt.

Abraham comes out swinging for the fences like you wouldn’t believe. He hurts him again. And again. Miranda is in trouble. Miranda bites on a right feign and eats a GARGANTUAN LEFT HOOK! DOWN AGAIN!

Miranda is close to finished.

He’s down again. It’s over. Abraham just beat his ass this round. Goodnight, Edison Miranda. You’re a puncher and nothing more.

Arthur Abraham TKO-4

Abraham just kicked Miranda’s ass. Arthur Abraham is a legitimate bad man. A fight with Kelly Pavlik can’t come quickly enough.

Why not?

Miguel/Miki Rodriguez looks like Mexican Vince Vaughn in 1996.

How long does this last? Three? Four?

Stiff jab from Berto kicks off the fight. I’m not sure why they booked this into such a large venue.

There’s a counter right from Berto. There’s a left hook from Berto. Pretty slow, really. When Berto throws, he lands. Big shots, and he’s just tagging Rodriguez now. This is really no more competitive looking so far than Berto-Trabant was.

I also can’t believe this is a title fight. Like, really?

Berto 10-9

Nice show of speed from Rodriguez. He’s getting hit plenty, but Berto also hasn’t yet let it go, really, as Lennox just said.

Chopping right from Berto just creams Rodriguez. Berto is drilling him again. Rodriguez isn’t backing down or showing any real response, but Berto’s speed is awesome. In some ways, he reminds me stylistically of Roy Jones. He pulls his hands back really fast after landing, and comes right back with more action.

Flush right hand from Rodriguez, but it doesn’t seem to have hurt Berto at all. Andre’s showing the big difference in skill level.

Berto 10-9
Berto 20-18

Rodriguez showing some fire, but Berto seems to just be waiting for a place to unload a combo. RIPPING body shot from Berto turns Rodriguez’s body a little bit.

Rodriguez with a series of jabs, looked like four at least. Didn’t land great, but did land. Kellerman makes the Jones comparison, too. I’m sure it’s not the first time anyone has, but he progresses defensively and maintains that sort of offense. That’s impressive.

Right now this is Rodriguez’s round, though, just because Andre hasn’t done a whole lot. And there he lands a few stiff shots. He might try to steal this one, and he might succeed, too. Chopping right. Now he’s letting his hands go again. Did Andre steal the round? Maybe. I’ll say yes!

Berto 10-9
Berto 30-27

I think Andre Berto is being trained by Bubba Sparxxx.

Berto with more combos, more chopping rights, more exhibitions of speed. Ugh, this fight has open fucking scoring, the worst thing in boxing today. I might be exaggerating. I might not.

Rodriguez tries to go to the body, but Berto succeeds in doing so. That’s the basic difference here. More combos. Berto is just a much more talented guy. What can you do to combat that? It’s really not easy. Berto puts about six more punches together, landing a few.

Now Berto is making faces, deking blatantly with his body, just fucking with Rodriguez. Classic Jones.

There’s a right from Miki. Left hook lands. Berto with four more shots, two of them those big chopping right hands.

Berto 10-9
Berto 40-36

that last sweaty comment by Lenox was disgusting

Official cards right now are 40-36, 39-37, 39-37. Jesus I hate open scoring.

They’re trading a little now, with Berto continuing to get the best of Rodriguez. This isn’t exactly exciting. Rodriguez is apparently pretty damn tough, but he’s also outclassed in pure skill. So it’s a guy that doesn’t look like he’s going to fall getting wailed on for the most part. Not the best sort of fight to watch, really.

Rodriguez is trying as best he can. This isn’t his fault. But this was his round, I think. He pressured Berto and Andre seemed to take the round off.

Rodriguez 10-9
Berto 49-46

Rodriguez is disarmingly happy-looking. Even when he’s punched in the face a lot.

Kellerman says there’s something about Berto that has caused the boxing community to not get TOO excited about him. I guess—Berto is immensely talented. I leave it at that. I don’t look at guys his age and wonder, generally, if they’re the next anyone. Berto has yet to fight top-shelf competition. I’m guilty of getting overly excited about Pavlik, but Pavlik beat Taylor twice and knocks almost everyone out.

Anyway, this is yet another Berto round. Kellerman is mildly right—there’s been nothing about Berto to get too excited about in a while, but he hasn’t lost any buzz. He just hasn’t gained any in about four fights.

Berto 10-9
Berto 59-55

Berto with a wicked right chopper, and then a MASSIVE uppercut floors the hell out of Rodriguez. He got up quickly. Dude can take a punch, but that was nasty. That was video game uppercut shit.

About 1:10 left in the round, and Berto knocks him down on a left-right combo. This is now a clinic. No three-knockdown rule, but Berto storms in again and before Miki can fall, Laurence Cole just stops it.

Andre Berto TKO-7

I actually took a lot from him in this fight.

I can gradually see him getting better and better.

Personally, I thought it was brilliant and loved it to death