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| EDISON MIRANDA VS. DAVID BANKS I thought of Miranda as a poor man's Julian Jackson. Broadcaster Max Kellerman used to say that "offensive fighters are always overrated" and I agree to a certain extent. Hard punching sluggers like Tyson, Julian Jackson and even Felix Trinidad were a bit overrated in their primes because their victories were so violent. I used to put Miranda in a level or two below Julian Jackson and I mention him only because they are so stylistically similar. Now, after looking at his record and his demolition of Banks I think he may surpass Jackson's accomplishments and even those of fellow countryman Rodrigo Valdez. I have seen clips of David Banks previously. He's short for a super middleweight and judging by his physique he should be fighting at a lower weight division. Banks has no notable victories aside from an upset victory over an ordinary Elvin Ayala. He has made whatever acclaim he has by being a loser on the Contender series. This fight...It was gearing up to be damn boring. Banks couldn't break an egg. He threw softjabs and held Miranda whenever possible. Miranda was content to parry and catch Banks pitty pat punches on his gloves. The first two rounds were putting me to sleep... Zzzzzz...But then, out of nowhere, Miranda blasted a huge right hand which caught Banks around the side of his left ear. Banks went down as if he had been shot and fell backwards. The bottom rope caught his fall and it bent his whole body backwards. Pretty scary to see him draped limply over the rope like that. ESPN broadcaster Joe Tessitore went nuts, calling it the early candidate for "knockout of the year." I agree. It was a pretty impressive shot. Okay, I'm finally sold on Miranda. He is a strong and rugged mo fo. He's scheduled to fight Jean Pascal in June. Pascal is still untested and I didn't like how he looked against Pittman. But he has speed and I can see him befuddling an overly patient Miranda in the early rounds. So, I see that fight unfolding in Miranda's favor in the middle rounds. He'd catch Pascal eventually and either knock him out or hurt him so bad it will change the fight completely in his favor. |
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