I understand it is time to step up, but with Ward's questionable chin and Miranda's power I can see this ending badly for Ward. I hope Ward knocks him out, but I do not know if Ward is strong enough to push Miranda back, and if he is not than I see him getting knocked out.

I read about this yesterday. This should be very entertaining. Its a step up for Ward and a measuring stick. If he can with stand the pressure early I think he can stop Miranda late or decision him. If his defense isn't intact early this could get real ugly!

Ward is gonna get KTFO if he takes this fight.

Everbodies mentioning Ward's chin, do not forget Miranda was KO'd badly by Pavlik and Abraham. So I would not be surprised to see Miranda to get KO'd either. I think I would favor the more polished Ward, very slightly. It should be a fun fight to watch.

While I agree that Miranda doesn't have the best chin either to his defense he was stopped against world class punchers Ward on the other hand was hurt several times against no name fighters.

I agree with you on that no doubt. I just think it is not out of the question for Miranda to get KO'd too.

Ward UD

Perfect opponent for Ward. Miranda is a pass/fail guy. Either you are gonna KO him or he's gonna KO you. You know he comes to fight. If Ward can pass this test, he should be up for bigger and better things.

Agreed. I love this fight. It's now or never for Ward. I think he'll impress and knock Miranda out.

I'd also love to see Dirrell-Lacy. Exact same type of fight.

yeah, i look forward to this fight, should show if ward has what it takes

I think this would be a good fight for Ward. He needs to start fighting better opponents. He has looked really sharp his last couple of outtings and I think he could take it to Miranda. Miranda is extremely slow, but he does have that KO power. I would go with Ward by decision or late stoppage.

I think against Miranda Ward would be cautious enough to avoid getting caught too badly and as long as he can do that, he is definitely much better than Miranda. Id also say he either decisions him or even stops him late because Mirandas defense obviously isnt great.

Miranda is just always a big risk with his power, but like I said, maybe thats better for Ward than getting too relaxed against someone who doesnt have this obvious knockout power.

And after a victory against Miranda Ward would definitely be in the mix in that great division. Some great things coming up there with Froch, Taylor, Bute, Andrade, Ward and Dirrell. Hopefully Kessler will be able to fight again, too... And hopefully someone will take that WBO mandatory shot. I dont think Universum is interested in putting up Balszay against a strong opponent.

He's a WBO champ, what do you expect? The WBO is a kiss of death for a world class fighter, even a great one like Joe Calzaghe was lumbered with it for years before he finally got credit when fighting for one of the main belts.


As for Ward-Miranda...this is exactly the kind of fight young guys should be taking.

By now, Ward should have had DOUBLE the amount of fights he's actually had and should have fought one or two Miranda-types. Even if he'd lost once or twice, it would have held him in good stead for the future. That big, fat, shiny '0' on the end of a record simply means to me a fighter hasn't been matched dangerously enough. There's someone out there to beat EVERY fighter if they're taking on enough challenges.


I'll go for Ward UD...but if he loses it's not the end of the world, he has the talent to become a champion and a loss or two shouldn't stop that unless there are serious chin issues.


Black

The problem though Black is that this is boxing, not MMA. In MMA records are not a major issue, but in boxing if Ward goes out there and gets knocked out in a round or two he will be labeled a non-factor.

There are several fighters out there with loses that very good fighters and deserve a shot, but with Ward winning a gold medal they may give him one loss, but two and his promoter will dump him.

Sad but true...the modern game.

It would be so much better if fighters were seen as being just as marketable regardless of whether they had an 'L' or two on their record...then they'd be less cautious about who they're fighting and would become better fighters for it, probably more entertaining too.


Ironic, isn't it?




Black