Edison Miranda

Edison Miranda
Edison Miranda
	Miranda in 2009
Born	January 7, 1981 (age 43); Buenaventura, Colombia
Nationality	Colombian; Puerto Rican
Other names	Pantera ("Panther")
	Statistics
Weight(s)	Middleweight; Super middleweight; Light heavyweight; Cruiserweight
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Reach	77+1⁄2 in (197 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
	Boxing record
Total fights	46
Wins	36
Wins by KO	31
Losses	10

Edison Miranda (born January 7, 1981) is a Colombian-Puerto Rican professional boxer. He has challenged twice for a middleweight and super middleweight world title, and was once considered to be one of the most dangerous contenders at middleweight due to his knockout percentage.

Early life

Miranda was born in 1981 in Buenaventura, Colombia and was abandoned by his mother when he was one month old.^[1] At age nine, Miranda escaped from his caretakers to live in the harsh street life of Colombia. Miranda went on a search to find his mother and at a construction site, he ended up confronting his mother's brother. The uncle he never knew told him that if Miranda was really the little boy his sister gave away, then he should have a birthmark on his leg. Miranda unveiled the 2-inch long circular proof. The man led him to his mother's new home, only to be abandoned again by his mother. By the time he was 12, he was working in the plantain fields. The next year, he had a full-time construction job. By the time he was 14, he was working as a cattle butcher. At age 15, Miranda took up boxing, training for a half-year before starting his amateur career.^[2] Miranda won 128 out of 132 fights, winning four Colombian national titles. Miranda won a bronze medal in the 2000 Olympic Trials in Argentina, but failed to qualify for the 2000 Colombian Olympic team.^[3]

Professional career

Middleweight

132 fights later, Miranda became a professional boxer, but his journey was only halfway over. March 2002 saw Miranda's arrival in the Dominican Republic. Having been promised a shot at going to the United States to fight the top middleweight fighters in the world, Miranda continued with what he's best at – fighting – both in and out of the ring. Struggling to make ends meet, left homeless and hungry by an unfair contract, Miranda left the Dominican Republic and returned to Barranquilla on December 24, 2004. With the support of friends, he fulfilled his dream of making it as a boxer in the United States when he signed with Warrior’s Boxing Promotions and then had his first American fight in Hollywood, Florida on May 20, 2005. In that fight, Miranda defeated Sam Reese by unanimous decision.^[3]

IBF title eliminator

Miranda fought Howard Eastman on March 24, 2006, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Miranda got off to a slow start but showed his tremendous power when consecutive right hands hurt Eastman in the fifth round. The experienced Eastman survived the round and came back strong by hurting Miranda in the next round. Miranda kept throwing his right hand, and in the seventh, he had Eastman hurt badly with a clean right cross to the jaw, followed by a left uppercut and then a vicious right uppercut that nailed Eastman under the chin. The referee stopped the fight, making Miranda the first man to stop Eastman. The victory made Miranda the mandatory challenger for IBF Middleweight Champion Arthur Abraham.^[4]

IBF title fight

Miranda fought Abraham on September 23, 2006 in Wetzlar, Germany. The fight was not without controversy. After three competitive rounds, Miranda broke Abraham's jaw with a right hand in round four. In round five, Miranda head-butted Abraham on the right side of his face. Abraham was seen turning away hurt with his mouth agape. Referee Randy Neumann stopped the fight and during the five-minute break, the doctor recommended to stop the fight to what he saw as a broken jaw from a legal punch. The referee decided to continue the fight and deducted two points from Miranda. Abraham fought the reminder of the fight with a visibly broken jaw that was grossly swollen at the end of the fight. In the seventh round, Miranda was docked two more points for low blows. Then in the eleventh round, Miranda landed another low blow and the referee took another point from him. Miranda lost the fight by unanimous decision. He would have lost even without the deduction of any points (although by MD only).^[5]

Fights with Gibbs & Green

On December 16, 2006, Miranda fought Willie Gibbs in Miami, Florida. Miranda landed a strong right hand that badly hurt Gibbs, causing him to stagger back into the ropes. Miranda then unloaded a volley of punches, concluding with a right hand followed by a left hook that connected flush on Gibbs' chin, sending him down and out in the first round.^[6]

On March 3, 2007, Miranda won a unanimous decision over Allan Green at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Green knocked down Miranda with a left hook that landed on Miranda's chin in round eight. Despite that, Miranda dominated most of the fight and knocked Green down twice in the final round. The fight was fought at a catchweight of 162 lbs, foreshadowing Miranda's problems at making weight.^[7]

WBC title eliminator

On May 19, 2007, after losing nearly every round, Miranda was brutally stopped in the seventh round by Kelly Pavlik at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. After getting knocked down the first time in round six, Miranda spit out his mouthpiece, leading to a one-point deduction. It did not help him survive, since he was knocked down again in round six and once more in round seven. Referee Steve Smoger halted the fight with Miranda still down.^[8] The fight was a WBC title eliminator with the winner getting a shot at Middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. Pavlik went on to beat Taylor.

Super middleweight

After the loss to Pavlik, Miranda moved up to Super Middleweight and fought Henry Porras on October 30, 2007, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Miranda started out slowly, but soon found both his range and rhythm. Porras was a game opponent in the first two rounds, but as Miranda became more comfortable, he found openings in Porras’ defense. Miranda unloaded a powerful barrage of punches on a defenseless Porras to force the referee to step in and stop the fight in the fifth round.^[9]

On January 11, 2008, Miranda viciously knocked out David Banks in the third round at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The fight began with two feeling out rounds that saw Miranda use a consistent left jab to set up rights over the top and underneath of Banks' guard. In round three, Miranda landed a big right hand that caused Banks to collapse backwards and fall awkwardly halfway through the ropes.^[10] The knockout was named "Knockout of the Year" by ESPN.com's Dan Rafael,^[11] and also was accoladed as Ring Magazine Knockout of the Year for 2008.

Rematch with Abraham

On June 21, 2008, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, Miranda lost to Arthur Abraham by fourth round technical knockout. The fight took place at a catch weight of 166 pounds (75 kg), so Abraham's IBF Middleweight title was not on the line. Abraham spent much of the first and second rounds with his gloves high to his head and his back against the ring ropes, while Miranda threw power punches. Abraham blocked many of Miranda’s punches, but a low blow drew a warning to Miranda and a brief rest period for Abraham. Abraham began to open up in the third round, landing right and left hands to Miranda’s head. About 30 seconds into the fourth round, Abraham landed a clean left hook to the temple that knocked Miranda down. He got to his feet, but was caught by a sweeping left hook that knocked Miranda down again. Abraham ended the fight seconds later with a third left hand to the head that sent Miranda down again, bringing an automatic stoppage via the three-knockdown rule.^[12]

Fight with Lucian Bute

On April 17, 2010, Edison Miranda fought Lucian Bute in Montreal, Quebec, at Bell Centre in front of nearly 15000 fans. Miranda lost the first two rounds and he was knocked out during the third round with a solid right uppercut to the jaw. Miranda got back on his feet but the referee decided to stop the fight seconds after.

Professional boxing record

36 Wins (31 knockouts), 10 Losses, 0 Draws^[13]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	36-10	Daniel Noguera	KO	1 (6)	07/09/2014	Patio Casa Los Caracoles, Tolú, Sucre
Loss	35-10	Yunier Dorticos	UD	10	10/07/2014	American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida	Lost WBC Latino Cruiserweight title.
Loss	35-9	Eleider Álvarez	UD	10	28/09/2013	Bell Centre, Montréal, Quebec
Loss	35-8	Tony Bellew	TKO	9 (12)	08/09/2012	Alexandra Palace, London, England
Loss	35–7	Isaac Chilemba	UD	10	03/02/2012	Texas Station Casino, North Las Vegas, Nevada	Miranda cut over left eye in 3rd round from accidental head butt.
Win	35–6	Kariz Kariuki	TKO	5 (8)	17/12/2011	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss	34–6	Yordanis Despaigne	DQ	5 (10)	29/07/2011	Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada	Yet another low blow prompted the disqualification in the 5th round.
Win	34–5	Rayco Saunders	UD	8	04/06/2011	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss	33–5	Lucian Bute	TKO	3 (12)	17/04/2010	Bell Centre, Montréal, Quebec	For IBF super middleweight title.
Win	33–4	Francisco Sierra	KO	1 (12)	22/10/2009	Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Lemoore, California	Won interim WBO NABO super middleweight title.
Loss	32–4	Andre Ward	UD	12	16/05/2009	Oracle Arena, Oakland, California	For NABF title & WBO NABO super middleweight title. Ward cut over the left eye by an accidental head butt in round 1.
Win	32–3	Joey Vegas	TKO	5 (10)	20/03/2009	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England	Vegas down twice in round 3.
Win	31–3	Manuel Esparza	KO	3 (8)	14/01/2009	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida
Loss	30–3	Arthur Abraham	TKO	4 (12)	24/06/2008	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida	In round 4 Miranda was twice knocked down prior to the TKO.
Win	30–2	David Banks	KO	3 (10)	11/01/2008	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida
Win	29–2	Henry Porras	TKO	5 (10)	30/10/2007	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida	Miranda makes his debut at super middleweight.
Loss	28–2	Kelly Pavlik	TKO	7 (12)	19/05/2007	FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee	WBC middleweight title eliminator. Miranda was down twice in the 6th round.
Win	28–1	Allan Green	UD	10	03/03/2007	Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Win	27–1	Willie Gibbs	KO	1 (10)	16/12/2006	Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida
Loss	26–1	Arthur Abraham	UD	12	23/09/2006	Rittal Arena, Wetzlar, Hessen	For IBF middleweight title. Abraham suffered a broken jaw in the 4th round.
Win	26–0	Howard Eastman	TKO	7 (12)	24/03/2006	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida	IBF middleweight title eliminator.
Win	25–0	Sherwin Davis	KO	3 (12)	21/10/2005	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida	Retained IBF Latino title, WBO Latino title & WBO NABO middleweight title.
Win	24–0	Hilario Guzman	UD	6	26/08/2005	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida
Win	23–0	Jose Varela	UD	12	16/06/2005	Seminole Casino, Coconut Creek, Florida	Won WBO NABO title, vacant IBF Latino title & vacant WBO Latino middleweight title.
Win	22–0	Sam Reese	UD	10	20/05/2005	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida
Win	21–0	Saul Torres	KO	1 (10)	26/02/2005	Estadio Romelio Martinez, Barranquilla, Colombia
Win	20–0	Jonalis Reyes	KO	1 (?)	11/12/2004	San Pedro, Dominican Republic
Win	19–0	Darmel Castillo	TKO	5 (10)	29/08/2003	Magnum Eventos, Panama City, Panama
Win	18–0	Feliberto Alvarez	KO	3 (8)	28/07/2003	Club San Carlos, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Win	17–0	Hector Rodriguez	KO	1 (?)	25/07/2003	Polideportivo, Moca, Dominican Republic
Win	16–0	Meregildo De Los Santos	KO	1 (?)	20/07/2003	Cotui, Dominican Republic
Win	15–0	Manuel De la Rosa	KO	2 (10)	14/06/2003	La Romana, Dominican Republic
Win	14–0	Jose Luis Robles	KO	1 (?)	15/04/2003	Club Los Cachorros, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Win	13–0	Danilo Serrano	KO	1 (?)	10/04/2003	Club Los Cachorros, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Win	12–0	Roberto Jimenez	KO	1 (?)	01/04/2003	Club Los Cachorros, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Win	11–0	Joselito del Rosario	KO	1 (10)	21/03/2003	Coliseo Carlos 'Teo' Cruz, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Win	10–0	Rafael de la Cruz	KO	2 (?)	15/06/2002	San Cristobal, Dominican Republic
Win	9–0	Joselito del Rosario	KO	1 (?)	12/06/2002	Club Los Cachorros, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Win	8–0	Nelson Gil	KO	1 (?)	05/06/2002	Estadio Olimpico, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Win	7–0	Jose Chiquillo	KO	1 (?)	14/12/2001	Cartagena, Colombia
Win	6–0	Alfonso Mosquera	TKO	1 (8)	05/10/2001	Gimnasio Roberto Duran, Panama City, Panama
Win	5–0	Fidel Sarmiento	KO	2 (?)	24/08/2001	Barranquilla, Colombia
Win	4–0	Saul Torres	KO	1 (?)	18/05/2001	Barranquilla, Colombia
Win	3–0	Vidal Diaz	TKO	1 (4)	27/04/2001	Polideportivo San Felipe, Barranquilla, Colombia
Win	2–0	Luis Blandon	KO	1 (6)	30/03/2001	Barranquilla, Colombia
Win	1–0	Jose Chiquillo	TKO	1 (?)	16/03/2001	Barranquilla, Colombia