Look for Miranda to Avenge Earlier Loss to Abraham

It is often said that when people are faced with a difficult choice, they draw upon prior experiences. In order to predict the outcome of this fight, I am doing just that.  I will admit that this pick is not an easy one - Edison Miranda lost the first bout with Arthur Abraham, and I usually do not like the loser’s chances in the rematch.  However, there are a few key factors that I think will tip the scale in Miranda’s favor. 

If Arthur Abraham reads this post, he’d probably tell me to pick him based on prior experiences in the ring  (he beat Miranda nearly two years ago). I’d respond by telling him that he had more advantages then, than he will have on Saturday, June 21, 2008. 

When they first met back on September 23, 2006, Abraham had clearly fought superior competition leading up to their first fight.  He had defeated previously-unbeaten middleweight contender Kingsley Ikeke and junior middleweight titlist Kofi Jantuah while Miranda’s best win to-date was against a "past-prime" Howard Eastman.  

Abraham also seemed to benefit from a serious dose of "home cooking." In a fight filled with low blows, clinches and foul play by both fighters, Miranda appeared to be singled out (losing a staggering five points on the scorecards for his fouls).  I will not say the ref was cheating per se, but I’d be a fool to think that he was not influenced by Abraham’s boisterous fans in Hessen, Germany.

A lot has changed since the first fight, namely the fight venue (from Hessen, Germany to Hollywood, Florida) and Miranda’s level of competition (he’s beaten the highly-respected Allan Green and lost an exciting fight to middleweight king Kelly Pavlik) since their first fight. These changes will be the difference on Saturday, producing a rousing knockout win for Edison Miranda.

What do you think will happen?