This Saturday, the 19th of May, Jermain Taylor is not the only attraction in somewhat of a homecoming against Cory Spinks. Not by a landslide. If anything, many hard-core fight fans are psyched about the co-feature between arguably the two best punchers in the middleweight division, Edison "Pantera" Miranda and Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik.

    With the bad blood between the two (which is a frequent, almost persistent occurrence in a Miranda fight) the fight can should be fought in close quarters in which either man is in danger of being knocked out. With their obvious differences in their executions, their one similarity puts them on the same road and also gives them names in an always glamorous middleweight division which is their punch. If landed perfectly, Willie Gibbs, Jose Luis Zertuche, Allan Green, and Dorian Beaupierre can all tell you how devastatingly effective it can be. Another factor which makes this bout all the more intriguing is that both have hit the deck and shown vulnerability against opposition much less than will be faced on May 19th.

    Edison Miranda, who has been a must-see type of fighter since his humiliation of somewhat celebrated journeyman Sam Reese in '05, is undoubtedly a one dimensional fighter. But that single dimension has been extremely difficult to cope with for every one of his previous 29 opponents. The only fighter to ever inflict defeat on "Pantera" was Arthur Abraham about a year ago in a wild, highly controversial bout in which the five points deducted from Miranda made the difference. Since then, Miranda has opened up not only with his fists but with his mouth which has constantly called out Jermain Taylor. And despite the poor performance against Allan Green in March, Miranda proved how crucial and name-saving his punching power can be in the last round in which he nearly stopped the undefeated Green.  

    Kelly Pavlik, on the other hand, has faced very little adversity, though he has faced god, tough fighters in the past. Regarded as more of a tactician, Pavlik is still not a great defensive fighter by any means but still has a wider arsenal than Miranda. Any doubt about his punching power was answered in his devastating knockout of the rugged Jose Luis Zertuche in January which has made him a household name and another "must-see" fighter. Though a more intelligent choice of approach would be to use his tactical advantage of Miranda, Pavlik insisted on pressuring "Pantera" and testing his durability against the elite 160 pounders in the world.

    With all that said, the winner is the most obvious challenger to Jermain Taylor supposing he gets by Cory Spinks in Saturday's "Main-Event". Besides from Miranda's boasting about the punishment he'd inflict on Taylor if he were to face him, Pavlik has also expressed an eagerness to get at Taylor who still is somewhat of a question mark despite the victories over Hopkins and his draw with Wright. Despite all the significance of the bout, the fight itself should be great.

    I see a very competitive fight in the early rounds with Miranda and Pavlik possibly both hitting the deck in the opening three rounds. Pavlik, as proven against Zertuche, can maintain his power late in a fight and I see him coming on later in the bout. And although Miranda can certainly crack late in a fight as we seen against Green, his speed and attack slows down considerably as well. Pavlik should stop Miranda around the eleventh round in a career-defining fight.