17.06.08 – By Paul Strauss: (Showtime’s replay of the first fight) – Referee Randy Neumann seems to be in need of a refresher course in anatomy. He explained to Miranda, “You need to stop hitting him (Abraham) in the balls.” Well, unless the King has his gonads tucked into a pouch at belt level, Neumann was misdiagnosing the ailment. He wasn’t the only one off base. Clearly the judges had spent too much time in the beer garden saying Prost!
The fight was ugly enough without help from the referee and judges. Miranda probably should have been disqualified for the intentional head butt foul he committed in the fifth round. However, he wasn’t, and the fact is he probably won just about every round in the fight. If not for five penalty points levied against him, he should have gotten a decision. But, that isn’t the way the judges saw it. Their scores were 115-109, 116-109, and 114-109. Miranda probably had a different “toast” he would like to have shared with them..
These two sluggers don’t have the skill to fight a technical, sharp punching battle. Abraham’s style is stiff, employing a peek-a-boo defense, only occasionally erupting with flurries. He is capable of throwing sharp hard punches, but too often his punches are heavy pushes, like a wrestler’s punches. Miranda can mount a tremendous attack, using a variety of punches, with a big right hand being his best weapon. However, when he is under attack, he fails to exhibit an efficient defense, which was evident at the fight’s conclusion by his swollen left cheek and eyebrow area.
The simple fact of this fight is Miranda did more in each round, which was not reflected in the judges’ score cards. As previously stated, Abraham did mount occasional flurries, and did sting
Miranda with right hands, but it should not have been viewed as enough to win most rounds.
Referee Neumann seems to be a likable guy and a good referee, but had one hell of a time trying to deal with the crazy situations presented him in this fight. In fairness to him, more help should have been forthcoming from the ringside physician and commission members at ringside. Neumann clearly understood Abraham was badly hurt, and probably had a broken jaw. He could be overheard stating to those at ringside that the bloody mouth came from a punch(s), and if the fight was stopped because of it, Abraham would lose on a TKO. If the fight was stopped because of the broken jaw, it sounded as though Neumann felt they would go to the score cards.
There would seem to be some discrepancies in that explanation. At least one jumps out….Why would a fight be stopped, and sent to the judges for their scores, because a fighter was unable to continue due to an intentional head butt? Shouldn’t the fighter instead be disqualified?
Readers are challenged to search their memories for past battles when a fighter was penalized as many as five points! If memory serves, that wasn’t even the case when Pep and Sandy Sadler thumbed, laced, pushed, and tripped each other.
Referee Neumann repeatedly pleaded for agreement from somebody at ringside to stop the fight, but apparently no one was willing to do so. Abraham’s corner kept on telling him he was winning the fight, at the same time advising him to keep his mouth shut! It’s amazing he could keep his mouth piece in place.
The warnings started early, with the first one issued in the second round. By the fifth round, Abraham was bleeding profusely from the mouth. Later in the round the clash of heads occurred, and it was clear Miranda intentionally caused it, but it should be noted Abraham was already bleeding heavily from the mouth before the head clash. Miranda received a two point penalty deduction.
There was a second warning for low blows in the sixth round. By now Abraham’s jaw was badly swollen and appeared ajar. Another point (total three) was deducted in the seventh round, and later a third warning was given, and a fourth point deducted just prior to the resumption of action after a long recovery period. In the eighth round, Neumann could be heard to say, “He (Abraham) has a broken jaw!” He again seemed to want someone to tell him to stop the fight, but no one did.
Between the eighth and ninth rounds, Abraham seemed to groan in pain when his mouth piece was removed, but still no one in his corner suggested the fight be stopped? Miranda received another warning in the ninth round. In the tenth round, Neumann asks Abraham if he’s alright? At the end of the round, Neumann is heard to say, “This guy’s hurt!” But, still no one suggests a stoppage!
In the eleventh round Miranda receives yet another warning for low blows and is hit with his fifth and final penalty point, one which announcer Al Bernstein suggests might have been stolen by Abraham due to his acting ability. In the twelfth round Miranda pressed hard, with Abraham on his bicycle. It could easily have been scored a 10-8 round for Miranda! The end was a hometown (Germany) decision for a hometown hero (actually Armenian, but German citizen) .
What will happen in Saturday’s rematch? If Abraham takes a page from Kelly Pavlik’s Book, he will turn his effective flurries into a sustained attack, and back up Miranda. Edison will be open for Abraham’s haymaker rights. If the King fights like a peasant, as he did in the first match-up in Germany, then he will be “kaput”, as he is no hero in the USA.