Paul Malignaggi: The Gift of Gab That Keeps on Giving
By Ryan Songalia
Some people find Paul Malignaggi's loquaciousness to be "too much", obnoxious even. Others find Malignaggi's oratoricals to be full of charisma and entertaining; the kind of personality-laden spieling that can grab the attention of the casual sports fan. Regardless of your stance, everyone can agree that "The Magic Man" never holds his tongue.
So, when Malignaggi was on the wrong side of a disputable decision this August against former lightweight champ Juan Diaz in the latter's hometown of Houston, TX, it was only to be expected that you'd hear a mouthful from the Brooklynite.
"This state never gives a fair shake to anybody coming to this state to fight hometown fighters," Malignaggi said in the emotional, unrestrained post-fight interview with HBO's Max Kellerman. "This is boxing. Boxing is full of shit, man. I used to love this sport. I cannot stand doing this."
Four months later, Malignaggi is preparing for the rematch he initially doubted would ever happen. He believes this opportunity is due in large part to his refusal to go quietly into the night after the decision.
"I think I started a lot of fireworks with the post-fight interview," the 26-3 (5 KO) former junior welterweight champion tells BoxingScene.com . "Obviously that put some pressure on a lot of people to push for it. It made the fans get my back. I was speaking off of raw emotion after the fight. I didn't rehearse anything. I just went off the top of my head, I was so angry. I'm excited that I got the opportunity because in a lot of situations like these you don't get rematches. It's good to see that sometimes good things happen."
After twelve rounds of action, Compubox numbers showed Malignaggi throwing 286 more punches than the always-busy Diaz in their first encounter. He was given credit for landing just 13 more punches, however. The decision could have gone either way; seven rounds to five either way is understandable. Gale Van Hoy's 118-110 verdict for Diaz was not.
"The people that did think Diaz won the fight say it's because he caught a lot of punches on the gloves, but at what point do we become the amateurs? Just because you have your hands up doesn't mean the punches aren't getting through. He didn't come in the ring looking like he went through a meat grinder but he came out of it looking like he did."
The rematch with the 35-2 (17 KO) Diaz, set for this Saturday night (Dec. 12, HBO, 10:15 ET), will be fought under a vastly different set of circumstances. The first fight took place in Houston's Toyota Center; the rematch will be at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. The ring dimensions were 18x18 last time; this time it's 20x20, giving the more mobile Malignaggi room to operate.
None of the three judges or referee are from New York or Texas.
"I don't need advantages, I just need a neutral set of circumstances. I think I beat him the first time with all the advantages he had and then he needed the gift from the judges on top of that. It would be nice if I had it in New York because I had to go to Houston but Chicago seems like they're receiving me well. We had a lot of good things happen when we went to the press conference. I don't think I can be robbed in Chicago. As long as the right guy wins that's all that counts and in the end the right guy is going to be me."
Besides the neutral environment, the more relaxed weight situation has Malignaggi breathing a little easier. The first time they fought, Malignaggi dried himself out to make 138.5. This time he has an extra half pound to work with.
"When you're that light, you're so dried out that every half pound makes a difference. Getting that half pound back should help me sleep a little bit more the night before. Honestly I could not sleep the night before the weigh in because I was so thirsty. I couldn't even take a sip."
What he perceived to be a stacked deck working against him the last time around wasn't the only preexisting situation Malignaggi had to overcome. Malignaggi claims that a rib injury prevented him from sparring, limiting him in his preparations for the fight.
"I had gotten hurt about six weeks before in my ribs. We had to make up for it with a lot of padwork and lots of bag work. In actuality this camp I'm getting sparring so I feel even better."
Then, on the Wednesday before the first fight, Malignaggi sustained a bad cut over his left eye while working the pads. The cut re-opened at the end of the first round, creating one more obstacle to overcome.
"The padwork I do with my trainer is kinda crazy and I ended up banging into his elbow. I was like, 'Look at this shit, man'. We covered it up enough to not show it at the weigh-in. At the end of the first round it opened up. I knew once I got hit it was going to open up but I always trust in my cutman Danny Milano so it was never an issue."
Though this writer has no prior medical training or experience, it doesn't take an MD to tell when a cut has not healed 100%. The scar above his left eye still looks fresh, not the color of natural skin tone that usually characterizes a properly healed scar.
Regardless of the decision in the first fight, few can dispute that Malignaggi's performance resurrected his stagnating career. Since winning the IBF light welterweight title against Lovemore N'Dou in 2007, Malignaggi had looked increasingly vulnerable against average competition. After being stopped by Ricky Hatton last Fall, Malignaggi switched trainers from the popular Buddy McGirt to little known Sherif Younan of Canarsie, Brooklyn.
"I had just turned 28, I thought 'How is it that I'm shot already?'"
Malignaggi says that a few months in the gym with Younan had brought him back to the basics of what made him Paulie Malignaggi. All he needed was a fight to prove it.
He claims that his uneven performances were due to style clashes with McGirt that detracted from his instinctive style of boxing.
"He tried to change something that wasn't broken. I'm a very natural fighter, I don't do everything by the book. Buddy's main thing is to change your stance to stay low. When you stay low you can't use your legs. Now your punching off the movement is taken away. You're basically robotic. Now all the mistakes I made that I used to get away with I'm now paying for all of them.
"Had I seen all this before I would have obviously changed him after the N'Dou rematch. I looked at the video and saw the more time I spend in camp with this guy I'm getting worse.
"The reason I started going public was because he went back to Vero Beach and told everybody that I was scared, that's what happened in the Hatton fight. Look, I was in the Miguel Cotto fight at the Garden. I was on my ass in round two. I didn't get up and freeze, I got up and fought. Much better fighter, much tougher atmosphere. When everybody's saying Mayweather Sr. made Hatton better, they were looking in the wrong corner. This guy made me worse."
McGirt denies spreading the theory that Malignaggi "was scared" against Hatton.
"Those words never came out of my mouth," says the Florida-based trainer. "Before I say that to anyone else, I'll say it to his face.
"I wish him the best of luck on Saturday. I wish that he becomes champion again. But all in all, to be honest, f--- him. I don't give a f--- what he has to say about me. Listen, he would never fill my shoes as a fighter, he would never fill my shoes as a trainer and he would never fill my shoes as a man. Point blank."
Just like in the first fight, both men are facing condemnation to boxing hell should they fail to emerge victorious. Tough losses to Nate Campbell and Juan Manuel Marquez have pundits wondering aloud if Diaz's ultra-aggressive style has finally taken it's toll on "The Baby Bull".
Many felt Malignaggi was shot before his revitalizing performance against Diaz. A loss would relegate both to popular, high-risk opponent status at the back of the line for a title opportunity.
That desperation hasn't discouraged Malignaggi from thinking about the future. In his perfect world, a win against Diaz would lead to a matchup with Marquez, followed by a Summer rematch with Hatton. None of that talk means a thing if he doesn't conclusively handle business in Chicago.
"You're going to see an even better performance," Malignaggi assures. "It's going to be more one-sided. I'm not going to say don't be surprised if I stopped him but don't be surprised if I stop him.
"Talk is cheap so I can't wait to get in there and show it." -RS