Boxing fans can’t complain about there not being exciting fighters nowadays. They only need to look as far as Edison Miranda. The boxing world has been intrigued by Miranda (28-1, 24 KOs) ever since he entered the world-class scene in 2006 by scoring a technical knockout over Howard Eastman. Then there was the fight in Germany against IBF middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham. Though he wound up dropping a twelve-round decision, Miranda managed to fracture Abraham’s jaw. However, the Abraham bout, Miranda's first world title opportunity, was untelevised in the U.S., so the public did not get the chance to confirm rumors of Miranda’s freakish punching power.

But this past December, the public finally got the opportunity to watch Miranda in action. In his HBO debut, the Colombian captivated audiences worldwide by knocking out Willie Gibbs in the first round, leaving many wondering whether the man known as “La Pantera” was this generation’s Julian Jackson, who was an early 1990s slugger.

But if you ask Miranda himself, he’ll tell you he’d rather possess the longevity of Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, the current light heavyweight champion, who reigned supreme over the middleweight division for a decade. “I want the public to know that I’m one of the best fighters out there and that I’m going to be one for the next ten years like Bernard Hopkins,” Miranda says with a cool confidence.

It just so happens that in the days following Miranda’s recent victory over Allan Green, Hopkins declared him his heir apparent to the middleweight throne, which is currently occupied by the consensus world champion, Jermain Taylor, who unseated Hopkins in 2005. For Miranda, there could be no greater privilege. “It’s very special for me to know that Bernard Hopkins supports me because he’s such a great champ. Hopkins has said he’s passing the torch down to me so I can take over the middleweight division, so I have to work hard to make sure I don’t disappoint him,” Miranda says.

In his bout with Green, which was also on HBO, Miranda showed why he really didn’t disappoint anyone who watched him fight. After being knocked down in the eighth round, Miranda stormed back in the tenth and final round to knock Green down twice. Even after Green got on his feet with only a few seconds remaining, Miranda rushed towards him, hoping to seal the victory by way of knockout. That’s the kind of stuff that makes a champ.

But despite his vicious punching power, Miranda knows he still has a lot to work on in order to one day be a champion. “I have to work on several things like my defense,” Miranda says. “But against someone like Jermain Taylor, I don’t need to work on anything. Even you could beat him. Even if you’ve never boxed before.”

Miranda is not one to mince words. When asked about Taylor, he boldly expresses his disgust with the current middleweight champion. “The only real fighter Jermain Taylor has ever fought is Bernard Hopkins and in my opinion, he lost both of those fights. The judges gave him those wins. I was there at both fights and I was sure Hopkins won,” Miranda says. “The belts Taylor has now belong to me.” After the two fights with Hopkins, Taylor faced Winky Wright and Kassim Ouma.

According to Miranda, Taylor is not willing to risk his titles against a fighter of his caliber, which bothers him. It upsets him even more knowing Taylor might defend his title against Cory Spinks on May 19, as reported earlier this week by Boxingtalk. To Miranda, a true champion should not be considering taking fights against smaller boxers, even though Spinks is the current IBF titlist at 154 pounds. “Jermain Taylor is a coward. He’s so cynical. I’m not here to fight welterweights or junior middleweights like he does,” Miranda says. “I’m waiting to fight him. His people need to make up their minds. The public deserves to see only the best fights. And I think they deserve to see me punishing Jermain Taylor.”

But in the meantime, the only thing Miranda can do is prepare for his next fight, possibly this summer against Kelly Pavlik, a top middleweight contender. Having recently returned from a vacation in Colombia, Miranda will be returning to Puerto Rico this week to resume his training.

When asked about the state of the middleweight division, Miranda calmly stated he is primed to take over and defeat anyone who stands in his way of the middleweight crown, including Pavlik.

“God has helped me to get better and I’m going to be here at middleweight for a long time,” Miranda says. “Pavlik is a good fighter. He’s got 30 wins with 27 knockouts, but that’s an easy fight for me. I know he’s scared of me. After he fought Zertuche, he was asked what he thought about fighting Edison Miranda. When he heard my name, his whole look changed. His eyes went pale. He’s white and he almost turned green. He respects me. If that fight is made, I’ll knock him out in five or six rounds.”