Body Blows: Abraham/Miranda, Arce/Makepula & More

Results

Arthur Abraham made the best of a bad situation to retain his IBF Middleweight Title against Edison Miranda in Germany. The bout was originally scheduled to take place in August but an injury to Abraham in training forced the postponement. To fill the one-month gap, the two engaged in some rather hefty trash talk to keep the fans intrigued. “I’ll win this fight,” vowed Miranda, “prematurely in fact. I’ll knock Abraham down. And I have a question: Where’s the belt anyway? It’s only two days for you to have it. Seize the time and take a few cherished photos. On Saturday the belt will belong to me and you’ll never see it again.”

Abraham wouldn’t let Miranda do all the talking, and fired back at the challenger. “Fortunately there are just three meetings left – the weigh-in, the fight and afterwards I’ll visit you at the hospital one time.”

The personal animosity was shown from the opening bell. The fight was a brawl from the first round. The two even ignored the bell to close round two and had to be separated. Miranda seemed to be the aggressor but Abraham defended as best he could while countering with power shots of his own. After exchanging more power shots in the third round, Abraham took control in the fourth. A one-two combination from Miranda, however, changed the course of the fight. Miranda broke Abraham’s jaw at the end of the fourth round.

Miranda took this fight to another level in the fifth when he gave an intentional headbutt to the champion. Miranda was deducted two points for the infraction but the damage was done. Abraham, who was already bleeding from the mouth before the headbutt, went to his corner and opened his mouth to let the blood pour out. The ring doctor inspected Abraham’s jaw and gave Abraham his recommendation to stop the fight. Since Abraham was already bleeding from Miranda’s punches, the stoppage would have been ruled a TKO victory for Edison Miranda. The referee gave Abraham the option to quit and the champion refused and survived the rest of the fifth round.

Arthur Abraham fought on from round 5 while spitting blood between rounds. Abraham couldn’t even completely close his mouth. The champ tried to box the sixth round to protect his jaw. Continuing this brawl was the last thing Abraham wanted to do. Miranda got dirty again in the seventh, this time penalized two points for low blows. Miranda was turning this into a street fight and while ahead on the scorecards, Abraham looked like the victim of a street fight.

Miranda tried to turn up the intensity in the later rounds but he was tired. Abraham almost finished him in the eighth but Miranda was able to survive the onslaught. The fight devolved back into a brawl for the last three rounds. Miranda hit Abraham with another low blow in the 11th and lost yet another point. It was an awkward situation for the referee. He could have stopped the fight and disqualified Miranda. He also could have stopped the fight and declared Abraham unable to continue due to his jaw. The referee opted to do neither and let the men decide the winner for themselves. Miranda failed on his attempt for a knockout in the final round as Abraham was content playing keep-away for the final three minutes. The scores were announced and the winner by unanimous decision was Arthur Abraham.

Certainly the face of a champion. This fight was not broadcast on national TV but reports are saying it is a fight of the year candidate. Abraham showed all the heart and will that fans love in a champion. He was taken to a hospital immediately following the fight. Abraham improved his record to 22-0 (17 KOs) while Edison Miranda suffered his first loss and fell to 26-1 (23 KOs).

Jorge Arce vs. Hawk Makepula

Arce was an exciting flyweight and is trying to become just an exciting fighter. After having resounding success as a light flyweight and a flyweight, Arce moved up to super flyweight to take on veteran Hawk Makepula. This fight was shown on HBO Boxing After Dark but Arce didn’t stay on the air long. Maybe that’s a good thing because he is the ugliest fighter in boxing. Makepula actually boxed well in the first two rounds but was caught in the third round by Arce and was never the same. Arce is a very quick puncher and on this night was very accurate with his power punches. Makepula crumbled to the mat in the fourth as he whiffed on an attempted clinch. To his credit, Hawk got to his feet but he couldn’t do much more than stand up so the referee stopped the fight.

Arce is indeed an exciting fighter with a fan-friendly style. He wants to mix it up with the boxers in the ring and will beckon his opponent forward if he thinks he’s backing away. Arce called out just about everyone after the fight, saying he’ll fight higher weight classes at his current weight. That’s not a good idea but if you can get past his busted face, he’s a fun fighter to watch.

Other Results From The Week

– Australian Danny Green was successful in his move up to light heavyweight as he knocked out Jason DeLisle in the ninth round.

– Dmitriy Salita, a rumored opponent for Arturo Gatti should he return, defeated Francisco Campos by unanimous decision.

– David Estrada won his welterweight bout against Clarence Taylor when Taylor didn’t answer the bell for the seventh round.

– Hussein Hussein, famed Arce rival, knocked Nouldy Manakane out in the second round.

– Eric Esch, better known as Butterbean, scored a first round TKO of Ed White.

– Julio Cesar Chavez Jr defeated Shad Howard by 3rd round TKO.