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| Miranda and Pascal in the ring together following Miranda's victorious debut at super middleweight. (Photo © Wray Edwards and Eastside Boxing) |
Edison Miranda moved up to super middleweight on Tuesday night in Hollywood, Florida, beating veteran Henry Porras via fifth round TKO. Miranda weighed in at 169 1/4 pounds for the fight -- 1 1/4 pounds over the division's limit. He struggled to make weight against Kelly Pavlik, not that I think it would have mattered.
Edison Miranda is one of those guys I hope we see around for a long time. He's fun to watch, win or lose. But the truth is, he's a monumentally flawed fighter that probably won't get any better than he already is. At middleweight, he was a contender, but was not going to be a champion. At super middleweight, I can't see Miranda not getting smoked by a Calzaghe or Kessler. Anthony Mundine is his own issue, and then there's Lucian Bute, another guy he can't beat.
But how about Jean Pascal? Pascal joined Miranda in the ring after his win over Porras, posing for photos, and perhaps setting up a fight next year between the two. Pascal is another guy I don't think Miranda can beat.
It's been said before, and Pavlik proved it: A fighter with enough chin and enough power to go toe-to-toe with Miranda will beat him. Miranda's technique is terrible, he does not adjust well on the fly, and he has a tendency to throw wild bombs like a streetfighter.
I'd be happy to see a Miranda-Pascal fight -- that one could be fun. But what I really want to see is Miranda-Green II. Allan Green deserves another shot at Miranda, as he went the full ten rounds at far less than 100% in their first bout. I think Green is a hell of a fighter, one perfectly designed to beat Miranda.
I'm not saying Miranda isn't worthwhile. He's dangerous against anyone. His power is in no way overstated -- the guy can knock the shit out of anyone, and Pavlik ate some really hard shots before beating Miranda into the canvas.
There's also been talk that, eventually, Miranda could take on highly-touted prospect Andre Ward. Right now, I think Miranda is too heavy-handed for Ward. But once Ward really matures? Forget it. And that does seem to be the plan. For now, it seems like the talks between the camps have been more in the nature of, "You know what'd be fun..."
37-year old ex-heavyweight champion Chris Byrd is finally saying that he wants to move to cruiserweight. Those out there that think Byrd will go down to cruiser and dominate are nuts, and I like Chris Byrd. The top cruisers are really good fighters -- Byrd would more than have his hands full with Mormeck, Bell, Haye, Maccarinelli, Cunningham, even Tomasz Adamek.
But I think he could have a strong cruiser run in him. Look, he walks around at just over 200 pounds. He is not a particularly big guy. This is a dude who should've been a super middleweight, probably. He has, for years, put ON weight routinely to fight at heavyweight, which is wildly uncommon.
Could he be a champ, beat guys like Mormeck and Bell? Sure he could. He's a really good boxer, always has been. And he's got a lot of guts. But it won't be a walk in the park. Those guys can fight.