Even Miranda at his best was a come forward fighter who had no technique and no plan b, and could easily be outboxed by a true boxer, witness Alan Green with his intestinal problems. Ward can box, he is lightening quick, has good timing, good defense, and has no problem finishing a guy off when he is hurt or taking what they give him and pot shoting all night. Miranda will probably be KO in 7 after being shutout every round before.
As proven in the Green fight, boxing skills and countering are not the receipe to defeat Miranda. It takes power and a great chin. Two things that Ward is lacking.
Miranda is to the MW divison what Sam Peters was to the Heavyweights. We all thought Miranda would rule the MW's. And Peters would rule the Heavyweights. But what happend was Miranda was too weight drained to continue to fight succesfully at MW. And Sam got lazy & out shape, and his skills decreased. Go Miranda!!
It's really a put-up-or-shut-up fight for Ward. His progress has been slow, from inactivity. For a guy who had a lot of push early in his career, has been successful, and had a great amateur pedigree.. he should be further along now. If Ward is what he should be, he should win this pretty easy. If Ward isn't for real, then we'll find out. Miranda isn't Peter, he's ****ing Ricardo Mayorga. Mayorga is going to expose you if you aren't what you should be, but he's not winning against GOOD fighters.
Even if Ward is 'what he is supposed to be', it still doesnt mean he has what it takes to beat Miranda. Abraham can take anything you throw at him and has insane power. That is what beats Miranda. Pavlik doesnt have as good as a chin, or as much power, but he was on his game that night in Memphis and did what he had to do. I still think Miranda could beat Pavlik at 168lbs (in a war!), but I dont think he ever beats Abraham. IMO Either way Ward does not have what either Abraham or Pavlik have.
The thing is...this is possibly Miranda's last chance at any credibility against good fighters ! If he gets outclassed in this fight, then he should keep his trap closed from then on....just like Sam Peter !
He has a chance because Ward has been down more than once by lesser fighters. However Ward has improved since then and Miranda looks like a shot fighter to me. In his last fight against Vegas he was hit far too much. He might not be shot per say, but he definitely has slipped.
Since this fight is for the NABF (WBC lower class belt), there is a 7 day prior to the fight weigh in that calls for no more than 5% over the 168lbs contract weight. That means 176.5lbs is the most he can weigh this Saturday. There are no concerns about this weight check, so that should be a good sign that weight is not an issue.