Panther Sees a Ghost
In an early candidate for Fight of the Year, Youngstown, Ohio's Kelly Pavlik outslugged and outboxed the much ballyhooed Edison Miranda last night to earn a seventh-round TKO. This was a middleweight eliminator bout - Pavlik, a.k.a. the Ghost, is now the number one WBC contender at 160. And after his performance last night, anybody who's paying attention has to be licking their chops at the prospect of a Pavlik/Jermain Taylor smackdown.
As for Edison Miranda, somebody, SOMEBODY, needs to teach that pantera how to fight a little. We know he has the power, and after last night, we also know that he has the chin and the heart. Pavlik must have hit him with at least thirty shots that were worthy of knockouts. By the end of the fight, Miranda's face was a swollen mess, a combination of Gatti after the Floyd fight and Malignaggi after the Cotto fight. He took one hell of a beating, so bad that by the end I was starting to worry that he was going to die in there before he went down. The point is - he has all the raw materials of greatness (including an obnoxious cockiness and self-aggrandizing impulse), but he is an incompetent fighter. He doesn't move his feet right, he doesn't throw his punches right, he doesn't keep his hands up, he doesn't know how to move backwards or forwards, let alone come in at angles... he's a disaster, the most technically unsound fighter I've ever seen competing at this level. Freddie Roach, Buddy McGirt, Dan Goossen - some trainer with a proven track record for molding fighters needs to get a hold of this kid, because he has the potential to be an immortal and right now it's going to waste.
On the other hand, what Kelly Pavlik has right now is the potential to become the undsiputed middleweight champ and become a huge star in the process. In his postfight interview, Pavlik displayed all the aw-shucks decency and down-to-earth charm of his famous Youngstown predecessor, Ray Mancini. And his style in the ring last night was certainly reminiscent of Boom Boom in his heyday - come straight ahead relentlessly and throw bombs like your life depends on it. You can't say enough about the courage of Kelly Pavlik today, because as incompetent as Miranda is, he is equally ferocious, known for his devastating knockouts. Pavlik walked right into that fire and took the fight to Miranda all night, eating some big shots along the way. I'm not going to waste any words on the debacle of the Spinks/Taylor bout last night, other than to say that it gave me the impression that Jermain, for all of his physical gifts, still doesn't have much of an idea of what he's doing in the ring. He is ripe for the taking by someone as savvy and focused as Kelly Pavlik. Sadly, I imagine that Lou Dibella is hip to that as well, and in that Pavlik/Taylor is nowhere near a PPV-level fight, don't be surprised if it never happens, if Jermain jumps the middleweight ship to fight Calzaghe at 168 for a bigger payday. I hope it doesn't play out this way, but I can't see Jermain's people sending him into a fight where he doesn't stand to make much money but does have a strong chance of his ass kicked.
7 Comments:
that pavlik/miranda fight was incredible from start to finish. the taylor/spinks fight...not so much.
the most tellin quote was taylor's post fight answer to whether or not he wanted pavlik next: "well, uh, sure, him or whoever gives me the most money."
That fight would have made ol' Pythagoras proud. What it proved beyond a shadow of a doubt was that the shortest distance between a fist and a face is a straight line. Whoever works with Edison needs to start there.
That loop de loop stuff he was peddling is not going to work. Pavlik definitely impressed me the way he squashed that Miranda rally in the third or fourth. He showed he could slip big shots coming in and he showed he could weather a few heavy ones if they landed. Jermain throws starighter than Miranda, but do you think he throws that much harder.
I agree Pavlik, Taylor would be an extremely exciting fight. Probably too exciting for them to let happen as a non pay per view. What could Pavlik do to boost his profile if Taylor & co. duck him?
That bit at the end where he was yelling at the camera and huge blobs of blood were flyting out of his nose was ill. I want to see more of this guy.
Yeah, I'm excited about Pavlik as well. If Jermain ducks him, I don't know what he'll do. Maybe Winky for the 160 crown if Jermain jumps to 168.
I don't want to hate on Jermain either - he fought Winky when he didn't really have to. Then again, he's basically been fighting glorified 154's since he got the belt. Winky hit Jermain often and cleanly, but everybody knows that Winky ain't got no real pop. I don't think Jermain has tasted real power yet, not the kind that Pavlik brings to the table. Calzaghe is in many ways a safer fight for him, although I think he'll beat Jermain's ass too.
Taylor/Calzaghe would be sham but I don't see how Taylor's camp can accept a fight with Pavlik. Their jobs depend on keeping Jermain wrapped in belts and there's no reason to potentially sacrifice a title for the same amount of money they'd get paid to pursue Calzaghe.
Who is there for Pavlik to fight? I'm sure lots of us would love to see him in the ring with Duddy but there's no reason for that match to be made. Going to Germany to fight Abraham would be a step back and Winky won't be looking for a fight for a long time.
But more importantly, can anybody find a real fight for Berto?
Pavlik broke my heart. I was hoping Miranda was the next great phenom, the guy troubadours write ballads about, if they wrote ballads about, you know, if they wrote ballads about right hands like hammers.
I sat screaming at the television, "What the fuck is he doing?" and then realizing, "Oh yeah, he doesn't know how to fight, he only knows how to punch." I thought the fight might turn when Miranda started throwing some combinations in the fourth, but he seemed gassed or flummoxed after that, as if he found out what happens when he hits a wall and the wall hits back.
Dibella says Berto's going to step up with his next bout. They're talking to Carlos Quintana, which one presumes will be an easy win for Berto, but it's definitely a big jump in competition for him. I'd say that he's done though with the tomoatos. He's just too good to stay on the bum of the month tour.
I was kind of hoping for somebody closer to Clottey but that will have to wait. I can't imagine there are a lot of managers eager to put their guy in the ring with Berto at this point in his career.
Because he's from DC I still love Sharmba but why is he getting the IBF eliminator fight with Collazo? He's become nothing more than a punching bag for contending welters.
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