On March 3rd, HBO has a very appetizing fight card in store for the die-hard fan. Appetizing is the operative word, as both Miguel Cotto and Edison "Pantera" Miranda are poised for HBO PPV main events down the road.
However, don’t expect Miranda to make it past Allan Green.
This fight promises to end before the final bell rings. Both combatants have serious power in both hands. "Pantera" has the better chin, has faced the better competition (namely, Howard Eastman and Arthur Abraham), and actually has longer arms (76.5" reach to Green’s 73") despite his shorter stature (5’11" to Green’s 6’2").
However, Green sports the sparkling amatuer background (55-6), the undefeated professional record (23-0), and the superior boxing skills.
PREDICTION #1
Allan Green KOs Edison "Pantera" Miranda in five rounds, using his boxing skills to set set traps and eventually stop the "forward-marching" Miranda dead in his tracks. Don’t expect the same kind of back-and-forth slugfest in the main event (Cotto-Urkal) that you see in the preliminary (Miranda-Green). In the standard tuneup fight, expect Cotto to toy with the light-hitting Urkal (38-3, 12 KOs) for a few rounds and stop him somewhere around round 8. Don’t expect much drama, just a one-sided pounding, as Cotto gets in a good workout in battering the game German fighter.
PREDICTION #2
Miguel Cotto stops Oktay Urkal by the eighth round, setting up his June showdown with "Super" Zab Judah.
