SARATOGA SPRINGS — After a year and a half of being held out of the ring because of management issues, Vincent Miranda is ready to make his dream a reality.
The 29-year-old light heavyweight will get between the ropes with Rayford Johnson (9-15, 5 KO’s) tonight, August 15, for the co-main event at the Saratoga City Center.
Miranda (16-1, 10 KO’s) has been training with Saratoga Boxing’s Tyrone Jackson since he moved to the Capital District five years ago.
He’s originally from Puerto Rico. It’s where he first learned to box, where he first fought as an amateur, where first he turned pro and where he represented the Olympic team.
“The dream to me is obviously the title and the money behind all that, but most of it for me is the pride from where I come from,” said Miranda, who wants to be remembered as one of the best fighters who ever came out of Puerto Rico. “Where I come from there are a lot of good boxers. When I started boxing and I was on the Olympic team down there, I never got my respect the way I should have had it. I carry that pride with me. I want my name to sound big where I come from. I had a break down there. I had an opportunity to make a name for myself—a bigger name than what I already had—but doors never opened. I want to get the recognition that I never had down there that I’m actually getting up here.”
It was when he was 13 years old when he first fell for the sport. His father, Louis Miranda, was an amateur boxer who showed it to him and his four brothers. Back when he started, Miranda was a solid 250 pounds.
“My dad got me in the boxing gym and my first 25 pounds fell off like that and I just kept going—fell in love with boxing,” Miranda said. “Plus, I was always fighting down there in the streets or whatever. I loved fighting in and out of the gym, so if I was going to get paid to fight, why not?”
Miranda is far from 250 pounds now. Heading into Friday, he stands 6-foot-2 at 182 pounds.
But his body isn’t the only thing that has changed and grown over the years.
“His progress is getting better and better each day he comes to the gym,” said Jackson. “His defense is better and he’s using his jab a little more. His angles are picking up and that’s a big thing—lot of angles, lot of movement, lot of jab work, sitting down on punches.”
“My defense is much better, I’m sitting on my punches,” said Miranda, who added he feels like he’s 21 years old again. “My mindset in the ring is different. Before, I used to get in the ring and I was ready to have fun. Now, I have that killer instinct. When I get up there I want to hurt the guy and get him out as soon as possible. I don’t have any time to lose.”
The culmination of an up-and-down career has Miranda in that no-time-to-waste mindset, after having more time off between fights than he would have liked for the second time in his career.
At one point, he was 10-0 with 6 KO’s before his first loss. After that loss, he was held out of the ring for two years.
“My career has been up and down,” Miranda said. “It’s been a hard career, but I’m still here—still hungry. That’s something you need in boxing. When you lose that hunger that’s when you know you should step away. I haven’t lost it. I’ve been so hyped about getting back in the ring. I have a family to feed. I just feel like it’s that time, now or never, so it makes me hungrier.”
Despite not being in a fight night, Miranda has not taken a break from boxing. He’s been training the whole time.
One thing that keeps him going is family, including his wife, Jessica, and two daughters, Kassandra and Angelica.
“I know that I have a family to feed and the dream of becoming a champion,” Miranda said. “My dream being realized, I want to have the title around my waist. It keeps me pushing in the gym and the road of life. Boxing is not just in the gym. Boxing is a 24/7 thing.”
Fighting in front of the Saratoga Crowd for the first time, the dubbed “People’s Champ” is ready to represent.
“I call him [the People’s Champ] because, since he’s been here, a lot of people have seen him and connected with him because they know how hard he works and his consistency in the gym,” Jackson said.
“I’ve always represented Saratoga because this is where I’ve been training since I started with [Jackson],” Miranda added. “I’m psyched about fighting in front of my people of Saratoga for the first time. I’m good in the ring, but I’m good to people out of the ring. I have something that people like. I don’t know what it is, but people actually care about me and act like they love me. I’d like to be remembered as not only champ in the ring, but also out of the ring.”
As far as tonight goes, Miranda will stick to his own game plan against Johnson.
“I just go up there and do what I do,” Miranda said. “If the first round goes by and he’s still up there with me, I’m going to know how I need to fight him. I don’t know much about [Johnson]. He doesn’t have a beautiful record, a pretty record, but he has experience. He has 20 fights. He’s been in there with good fighters, so you can’t take anybody lightly. He’s coming to fight.”
Johnson is coming off a knockout win over the previously undefeated Ernest Reyna (4-1) on May 31. Miranda has some momentum himself. He has won his last six consecutive bouts, including taking down longtime contenders David Telesco and Brian Barbosa.
Aside from the City Center, tickets can be bought at the Putnam Market (431 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, 518-587-3663) and the Elbo Room (170 Delaware Ave., Albany, 518-757-7300). Both locations also carry “Team Miranda” T-shirts. General admission for the co-main event is $40.
“The Dream is Still Alive” and the fight begins tonight at 7:30 p.m.
