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Miranda speaks out!
September 27, 2006
After a disappointing outcome to his World Title fight versus Arthur Abraham in Wetzlar, Germany Edison Miranda speaks out.
“I first want to say that I enjoyed my time in Germany. The people were very nice to me,” said Miranda. “The day after the fight the people in Germany recognized me. They came up to me and said that I deserved to win that fight. They felt bad that I came to Germany and was treated like that and I should be the Champion.”
In a battle that has raised some eyebrows and definitely left the Team Miranda scratching their heads, one question has been answered that Seminole Warriors Boxing and Team Pantera have a true boxing star on their hands.
Miranda stated, “Abraham has the belt but I know in my heart and my fans know that I won that fight and I am the true Champion.”
When asked about the events that took place in the fifth round Miranda responded, “I saw Abraham say that he did not want to continue. Then, I heard the doctor and the referee say that the fight was stopped and the ref said it’s a TKO. I knew he was in danger, when all of the sudden someone yelled from his corner that he better fight. He shrugged his shoulders and turned around to fight. I thought the fight was over because they were talking and working on his face for at least five minutes. I didn’t think that you could stop a fight for that long without ending it. So I thought that it was over!”
“I know for a fact that he did not want to continue to fight. He was commanded by his corner to turn around and keep fighting,” said Miranda.
While there are comments being made that Miranda is a dirty fighter, he defends himself as he believes that he is a true student of the game and respects the sport of boxing to the fullest. Miranda exclaimed, “I did everything within the rules and regulations of the IBF. The punches that were ruled as lows blows were not low blows. They were right on the belt. With his waistline at his belly button as anyone who saw the fight could see, I am within my rights to hit that waistline. He just couldn’t handle that shot to the stomach as you could see by his reaction when I connected. Not because it was a low blow, ‘cause it wasn’t!” Miranda went on to say, “I asked my management to show me the fouls and I know that they are gathering information to prove that the shots were not too low. I don’t believe that those were low blows. I should have not had any point deductions.”
There have been several reports as to the status of Arthur Abraham’s condition. Some stating that he would never return to the sport of boxing again, others being that he may not be able to return for 9 to 12 months. “One thing is for certain that I respect him as a warrior and coming to fight that night. Especially after what happened with me breaking his jaw in the fourth round,” says Miranda. It later became known that Miranda broke Abraham’s jaw in two separate locations, once with and uppercut and the other with a straight right. “I tried to go visit him in the hospital before we left Germany and I tried several times to locate what hospital he was at, but we were unable to find him,” states Miranda.
“I was told by my doctors in Puerto Rico that his injuries are very difficult to recover from for a boxer and serious enough that he may never return to the sport again,” said Miranda. “I hope that he takes the necessary time to recover. I feel somewhat responsible for the damage that was caused during the fight. As a fellow human being it was difficult for me to punish him with him being in the shape he was in. I hope one day that he is able to fight again.”
After leaving Germany, Miranda returned to Puerto Rico. “I am glad to be home,” expressed Miranda. “I have been enjoying the past few days with friends, swimming at the beach and enjoying the beautiful scenery of Puerto Rico. But through it all, I can’t help thinking about that poor guy, ‘cause he did not want to continue and now supposedly he is in the hospital in pain needing to have his jaw wired shut for four weeks after they made him keep fighting.” Miranda continued, “I heard a report that he has two titanium plates in his jaw and that he had to have a three hour emergency surgery in Intensive Care.”
When asked how he felt about the corner of Abraham making him continue, Miranda stated, “I was surprised. I saw the condition that he was in losing a lot of blood and he couldn’t even close his mouth and they wanted him to keep going after the doctor and the ref said it was over. I was confused and couldn’t believe it.” Miranda paused and said, “I asked my trainer, Jose Bonilla what would he have done if that was me and he assured me that if I was taking that kind of punishment that he would stop the fight, without a doubt. One fight is not as important as my future and my health.”
“That made me feel good knowing that I have a trainer that really cares about me as a person and not just worried about the business,” said Miranda.
“I respect him as a warrior. He really showed his guts!” said Miranda on the determination of Abraham. “I don’t know if he can remember this or not but I held his hand up at the end of the fight out of respect for him finishing the fight. I give him a lot of credit for continuing after I know he did not want to.”
“I also heard that he made statements or someone from his camp said that Abraham doesn’t respect me, that I am a dirty fighter and they made comments about the supposed low blows. But the so-called low blows didn’t break his jaw and cause that damage to his face, my punches did. In fact my trainer told me to stop going to the body because he was afraid that they were going to try to disqualify me so that I didn’t win the belt,” said the disappointed Colombian.
“I will be champion. This is just what God has planned for me now. But as I have throughout my life, I will overcome these adversities and return with a vengeance. I just want to thank all of my fans and my team for the constant support and I will continue to pray for the healing of Abraham and I ask them to do the same,” said Miranda.
