Did you guys watch the re-broadcast of their first fight last night? I had watched it on YouTube a while back, but it was nice to be able to concentrate on the fight and not be distracted by the German commentary which sounded like an audiobook version of Mein Kampf. It was easy to tell that it was kind of awkward for Alberts and Bernstein to comment and give play by play for something that happened a year and a half ago, but after some early rough spots, they ended up doing a decent job. It almost seemed like Bernstein would leave the room every couple of minutes when they were recording the audio tracks.
Anyway, watching it for the second time got me nice and pumped up for the rematch on Saturday. I'm still as impressed as ever with Abraham's intestinal fortitude to finish the fight despite the broken jaw. Problem is, he probably shouldn't have been allowed to keep going. I'm quite sure that had that fight taken place anywhere else but his home country, the ringside doctor wouldn't have given him the option to continue. Not to mention the fact that the doctor called time and actually treated the champ from the apron. This fight also reminded me of how deplorable a job referee Randy Neumann did. I have no gripe with the intentional headbutt being penalized, but two points? The low blow fouls were also very questionable in my book. If a ref is going to take away five points from a guy, shouldn't he have disqualified him already. That shows that he isn't the least bit sure that he made the right calls. That last low blow was just icing on the cake as he didn't penalize him initially but after a minute or two of hearing Abraham groan, he decided to take another one from Abraham. Neumann is a complete joke and I hope I never have to see him again. After this fight, he should have never gotten another title fight like the one in which he let Cotto nearly kill Gomez.
As I said, I'm impressed with Abraham even though he's faced limited competition. He does have big power for a guy with such solid defense and his style is pretty engaging. He's the better boxer and the smarter fighter, but I think Miranda has improved greatly since this fight, even though he was knocked out last year by Kelly Pavlik. Obviously, there's no shame in losing to Pavlik. Yeah, he hasn't decided that defense is more important to him, but his power is only going to be helped by the fact that he won't have to boil down to make 160. His knockout of David Banks is still my pick for KO of the year this year. I just have a feeling that he's very hungry after having two potential opponents appear to run from him in Jean Pascal and Mikkel Kessler. I think he feels slighted for the first fight and he's going to take it out on Abraham in what will be the much more friendly confines of south Florida.
If Abraham comes out on top, though, especially if it's in emphatic fashion, I'll still be ringing the bell for Pavlik/Abraham, in Cleveland or Hamburg, it doesn't really matter.
Anyway, watching it for the second time got me nice and pumped up for the rematch on Saturday. I'm still as impressed as ever with Abraham's intestinal fortitude to finish the fight despite the broken jaw. Problem is, he probably shouldn't have been allowed to keep going. I'm quite sure that had that fight taken place anywhere else but his home country, the ringside doctor wouldn't have given him the option to continue. Not to mention the fact that the doctor called time and actually treated the champ from the apron. This fight also reminded me of how deplorable a job referee Randy Neumann did. I have no gripe with the intentional headbutt being penalized, but two points? The low blow fouls were also very questionable in my book. If a ref is going to take away five points from a guy, shouldn't he have disqualified him already. That shows that he isn't the least bit sure that he made the right calls. That last low blow was just icing on the cake as he didn't penalize him initially but after a minute or two of hearing Abraham groan, he decided to take another one from Abraham. Neumann is a complete joke and I hope I never have to see him again. After this fight, he should have never gotten another title fight like the one in which he let Cotto nearly kill Gomez.
As I said, I'm impressed with Abraham even though he's faced limited competition. He does have big power for a guy with such solid defense and his style is pretty engaging. He's the better boxer and the smarter fighter, but I think Miranda has improved greatly since this fight, even though he was knocked out last year by Kelly Pavlik. Obviously, there's no shame in losing to Pavlik. Yeah, he hasn't decided that defense is more important to him, but his power is only going to be helped by the fact that he won't have to boil down to make 160. His knockout of David Banks is still my pick for KO of the year this year. I just have a feeling that he's very hungry after having two potential opponents appear to run from him in Jean Pascal and Mikkel Kessler. I think he feels slighted for the first fight and he's going to take it out on Abraham in what will be the much more friendly confines of south Florida.
If Abraham comes out on top, though, especially if it's in emphatic fashion, I'll still be ringing the bell for Pavlik/Abraham, in Cleveland or Hamburg, it doesn't really matter.