18.12.06 – Ricardo Lois, BoxingConfidential.com: Los Angeles – Boxing writers have once again started aggressively beating the drum, announcing the death of boxing. Many symptoms have been noted: the popularity of Mixed Martial Arts, frequent increasingly sub-par pay per view cards, mediocre performances by the so-called faces of the sport.
Saturday Night, defensively flawed, offensively gifted middleweight Edison Miranda knocked out Willie Gibbs with a stiff right hand to the forehead in the first round which marked the end of the fight.
I hope the blow also caught Mr. Kerry Davis’ attention.
Last week HBO viewers watched Jermain Taylor pound out a less than inspiring victory over Kassim Ouma. Yes, Taylor dominated, but he provided little drama or intrigue. And while Taylor can be commended for fighting Bernard Hopkins twice, Ronald “Winky” Wright, and Kassim Ouma in succession, not one of the fights fueled the imaginations of boxing fans..
Taylor, an ex-Olympian, seems like a nice guy and has fought the best that middleweight division has to offer, but all that being said, his rise to glory and tenure as middleweight champion has been a bore.
Edison Miranda does not have the amateur pedigree or support of a network, what La Pantera does is bring non-stop action to the ring. His offense first style is crowd pleasing and exciting. This is the sort of fighter that needs to be featured on HBO more often.
A lot can be said about UFC and MMA, but one of their drawing points is the sheer violence and action their cards present. The majority of fans want to see someone get knocked out, why do you think Mike Tyson was so popular?
Seminole Warriors Boxing, an upstart boxing promotion run by Mr. Leon Margules, was given the opportunity to profile their fighter Miranda on HBO this weekend. More up and coming promoters should be given the opportunity to profile exciting fighters on the network.
Why did it take Sycuan Ringside Promotion’s selling half of their promotional rights on Joan Guzman to Golden Boy Promotions before the Dominican Dandy was presented on an HBO or HBO PPV boxing card?
We all know the answer, because promoters with the names of Arum, De La Hoya, King, Shaw, and Dibella are in Mr. Davis’ circle of business friends, while lesser known promoters are not.
Miranda, who grew up in the streets of Colombia, has come up in boxing the hard way. No plethora of ESPN and HBO television dates, but plenty of off television bouts and a shot at Arthur Abraham on the Smurf’s home turf. He did not represent Colombia in the Olympics as an amateur, but was attracted to boxing in a dream.
Where ever and when ever, Miranda brings two fists; Willie Gibbs learned that Saturday night. We can only hope Kerry Davis has learned his and stops putting fighters on HBO because of their name, or more importantly, because of the name of their promoters.
When Miranda entered the ring, the casual viewer did not know his name, but I am sure they are more excited about watching Miranda again than seeing Taylor right about now. Want to see Jermain Taylor in an interesting and exciting fight, throw him in the La Pantera for 2007.
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