Miranda dismisses Cleverly, eyes Froch test with Bellew win

Phil D. Jay
WBN Editor

‘Panther’ sets sights on more British bouts

Former world middleweight and super-middleweight title challenger Edison Miranda is hoping a victory over Tony Bellew in September can lead him to an IBF 168lb title bout with current belt holder Carl Froch.

The 31 year-old, who has lost out to Lucian Bute and Arthur Abraham in his previous world title challenges, dismissed any attempt to take on Bellew rival Nathan Cleverly for his WBO 175lb title with a victory at London’s Alexandra Palace in the autumn.

“The fans all over Europe have been great to me. I love that I get to fight in front of them,” Miranda told World Boxing News.

“I want to repay them by giving them an entertaining fight with a knockout ending that nobody will soon forget.

“Then I would like to fight again in London against Carl Froch. He and I are very similar and we both know how to sell a fight. We both can talk the talk and we both are not afraid to fight to the death.”

On a possible fight with Cleverly, who fought a close contest with Bellew in 2011, Miranda added: “To me, Cleverly is not a true champion. His toughest opponent is the same man I will knock out on September 8. He will not want to fight me.

“I would like to face Carl Froch at a catch-weight in London or maybe Jean Pascal would be another option, but he has been running from me for over five years,” he explained.

Miranda will go into the fight with Bellew as the underdog after suffering four defeats in his last nine contests, although the Colombian does possess the kind of one-punch power that can give ‘Bomber’ problems and keep the fans on the edge of their seats.

‘El Pantera’ also holds a first round stoppage win over British super-middleweight champion George Groves’ latest opponent Francisco Sierra and is still a test for anyone who harbours ambitions to move on to world-class level.

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