Ringside Boxing Report: Jon Thaxton vs. Jorge Daniel Miranda plus the best of the under card.
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Jon Thaxton said at the press conference on Wednesday how he intended tomake his fight, against the undefeated 19-0 Argentinean Jorge Miranda, the fight of the night on the “Meltdown†show in Sheffield. Although that distinction would have to go to the main event, Thaxton and Miranda put on a lively and eventful fight. Jon, fighting as a lightweight for the ninth time since his return to the ring following a car accident, looked in magnificent condition and entered the ring intent on making a statement. His undefeated opponent made his entrance with a cartwheel, giving some indication to his confidence level.
There was drama in the opening seconds as an accidental clash of heads left Thaxton with a cut above his left eye. The damage looked quite serious as the blood began to run into his eye. It was the last thing he wanted, obviously. Jon remained composed, however, and began to switch-hit, alternately boxing in both the orthodox and southpaw styles. A fairly close round ended with Jorge pressing forward throughout. Thaxton tried the left hook in the second as he boxed well, looking to pick his openings. A good counter puncher, Jon was content for his man to come at him. Miranda threw a powerful looking right hand though, indicating how dangerous he could be. He was wild with his shots though and Thaxton boxed his way to winning the session. The switch hitting continued throughout for Thaxton as he tried to confuse his twenty two year old opponent. Miranda focused his attack on the body and this effective aggression may well have won him the round.
In rounds four and five Thaxton really got into his groove and his work rate was as impressive as ever. Miranda’s guard was kept a touch higher now but Jon got home with decent shots from both stances. He really was as effective with either the right hand lead or the left. Then, in the sixth, he threw and landed a cracking left hook. He caught Miranda coming in and the Argentinean crashed to the canvas. He was up quickly, at the count of three, and showed great heart as he fired back as Thaxton went in to try and finish it. There was good action in this round – the round of the fight – and the crowd cheered appreciatively. A 10-8 round for Jon.
Jorge was still swinging wildly in the seventh, while Jon landed some sharp one-twos. He really was boxing well, using a good variety of shots including some uppercuts, and blood was now noticeably leaking from Miranda’s nose. Thaxton’s cut, however, had been patched up well in the corner and was never again a factor in the fight. Yet more switch hitting was employed by Thaxton in the eighth with Miranda doing the chasing. Neither guy looked tired and this was indicative of how hard they had trained for the bout. Thaxton, though, is always in great condition. He landed some sharp lefts and put yet another round in the bank
The pattern remained the same in the last two rounds, with Jon seemingly in comfortable control. This was a very impressive performance from the man who perhaps is best known for giving both Ricky Hatton and the teak-tough Emanuel Burton very hard fights. His performance tonight was both workmanlike and classy. Miranda, to his credit, never stopped trying but it was to be Jon Thaxton’s night.
The scores at the end were 98 points to Thaxton and 91 points to Miranda. He may not have put on quite the show stopping fight he had predicted beforehand, but Jon boxed very well and in handing the tough Argentinean his first loss he no doubt set himself up for a shot at a meaningful title in the near future. The best of Jon Thaxton may well be yet to come. Even now, at the age of thirty one!
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Best of the rest;
Commonwealth super heavyweight gold medallist David Dolan made a successful pro-debut at heavyweight with a four rounds points win over the Frenchman Nabil Haciani. David did make hard work of it though and was breathing heavily from the second round on. This was surely down to his desire to please in his first appearance in a ring without headgear and with time he will hopefully learn how to both pace himself and relax in there. Still, his entrance into the pro-game was a victorious one.
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Down at light welterweight, a boxer who has been mooted as a possible future opponent for teen sensation Amir Khan – Nicki Smedley, put on a flashy showing in the Naseem Hamed style with a comprehensive points win over four rounds against one Artak Tsironyan. Smedley remained undefeated as he won every round. A fight with Khan would be a very interesting fight indeed.
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The remaining results were as follows;
Geard Ajetovic stopped fellow British based fighter Manucci Salaari in the fourth round at middleweight. And Femi Fehintola of the U.K outscored Nikita Lukin of France.