No matter who wins this fight they are going to call out Pavlik and it will be hard for Arum to say no...
If Abraham wins then Arum wont be able to say no. If Miranda wins, Pavlik will avoid the rematch until Miranda deserves it. It will take more then a win over Abraham for that to happen. I expect Pavlik to stay at MW and get some easy wins, maybe a big fight with someone like Calzaghe. He wont go up to 168lbs for at least one year. At that time if Miranda is still undefeated at SMW, a rematch will be a must. You are right, Pantera is not the same. He is much hungrier and has everything to prove. He is training his ass off for this fight. He took Kelly way to light and learned a tough lesson. This is a career changing fight for Miranda. A win and he is back on 'top' and getting huge fights. A loss and he is no more then a journeyman for a long time. Abraham can afford a loss here, Miranda can not.
If abraham loses, he still has his middleweight title and german TV money, it's not that big of a risk
He has got a lot of potential fights on his plate right now and he is only a couple fights removed from a devastating knockout of Miranda.
If the fight is not all talk and actually goes through--away from Germany--Abraham deserves credit regardless of the result. As far as the "safety-first" stigma that has plagued European fighters' reputations (Calzaghe for example), Abraham would be showing some true grit by taking the rematch, at a catchweight no less.
Only if Abraham wins. What's the point of moving up to fight Miranda? Pavlik already demolished Miranda and Miranda don't bring much to a rematch. He at least needs to get a title and some good wins at 168.
AA won the first fight. This time he will most likely come close to ending Mirandas career with a patented uppercut....ouch I can visual it already.
its already official, and it is away from germany. i will give abraham MAJOR props should he win this
I agree. Miranda actually hasn't looked good since he KO'd Willie Gibbs in one round. I think Larry Merchant put it best, when he said Miranda looked like a deflated tire for most of the Green fight. Which is just how he looked against Porras and even Banks until getting the stoppages. I think Abraham knocks him out or wins a clear decision.