Paulie Malignaggi (25-2, 5 KOs) found his lack of power a fatal flaw this past Saturday November 22 in Las Vegas, as junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs) overwhelmed the Brooklynite to a merciful 11^th round TKO.

After a feel out first round where Malignaggi attempted to enact Mayweather’s successful counterpunch strategy from last December, Hatton badly hurt Paulie with a pinpoint right on the chin in the second.

Malignaggi’s legs buckled and he nearly hit the canvas due to the champion continuing to rain down hooks on the inside.

However, Malignaggi’s holding allowed him to make it out of a round that could’ve been scored 10-8 even without an official knockdown.

Many times in these early rounds Malignaggi was forced to hold, since Hatton’s footwork and punch slipping took away Paulie’s attempts to create distance to work his best weapon, the jab.

Frustrated by the constant pressure and a cut under his left eye, The Magic Man complained of Hatton’s holding at the end of third.

Ironically it was Malignaggi himself who did most of the holding in a foul-filled 4^th stanza. The wrestling still did not prevent Hatton from strafing the Brooklynite with hooks and piling up points.

Full of heart, Paulie made his best stand in the 5^th and 6^th rounds. Although the former was mired by excessive holding, Malignaggi for the first time was able to regularly pop Hatton with the jab and prevent the mauling he had been receiving. In the latter stanza, all of the #1 contender’s 17 landed punches were jabs, starting speculation that Malignaggi had again hurt his right hand for the umpteenth time.

The champion was unfazed and went right back to work in the 7^th. The round began with 3 consecutive hard lefts from Hatton. Now hesitant because of the firepower coming his way, Malignaggi maintained a defense first mode for the remaining 2 minutes. He was further discouraged as the normally hittable Hatton easily slipped a Malignaggi left and again buckled the Brooklynite with a hard right hand.

In the 8^th, Malignaggi continued getting a beatdown for amazingly standing in front of Hatton and trying to exchange hooks. By the 9^th, Malignaggi was desperately holding as he continued to get clipped with power shots, prompting the HBO team to ponder how much more Malignaggi could take.

Concerned Malignaggi trainer Buddy McGirt gave his battered fighter an ultimatum: stop standing in front of Hatton taking unnecessary punches or I’m stopping the fight.

Nothing changed in the final two rounds, and McGirt mercifully jumped into the ring to wave the white flag stopping the contest with 28 seconds left in the 11^th.

Recording his best win since his signature victory over Kostya Tszyu in 2005, Hatton was gracious to both Malignaggi and new trainer Floyd Mayweather, Sr in his post fight interview.

“The best way to describe Paulie Malignaggi is to think about when

you’re in the buff and you’re trying to catch the soap…Paulie is a great fighter but this felt like a comeback,” Hatton stated. “I enjoyed this fight better than the last time (Vegas Mayweather fight). Me and Floyd Sr. have only been together six, eight weeks. We showed glimpses of the stuff we can do.  Paulie’s a lot tougher than he looks….I was a little more patient. I was picking shots off a bit. I was moving me head a little bit more. It can still get better.”

Malignaggi was furious with trainer Buddy McGirt for stopping the fight, his ego bruised now that he has a knockout loss on his ledger.

“I’m better than this. Maybe I wasn’t going to beat him on points but I’m better than being stopped,” he fumed. “Ricky fought a great fight, he’s a terrific fighter, but this goes as a knockout on my record and it shouldn’t be.”

Hatton’s good showing puts him in line for the winner of December superfight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. No matter who wins, Hatton would be guaranteed a huge payday should Floyd Mayweather, Jr stay retired. And if Mayweather does steal away the fight, Hatton still has good potential fights with the returning 140 pound version of Zab Judah, Kendall Holt, or WBC champ Timothy Bradley.

Margarito-Mosley Set for January 24!

After initially balking at career-high $2 million dollar payday,
welterweight champ Antonio Margarito has agreed to face Shane Mosley January 24 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Margarito, who has not fought since defeating Miguel Cotto in July, initially turned down Mosley’s offer of a 50-50 split, arguing that he was the bigger draw and deserved a higher percentage after years of struggling to make a name.

“Mosley is not [the] all to continue with my career,” Margarito told fightnews.com. “De La Hoya didn’t keep his word, went around me, made excuses, and in the end didn’t have the seriousness in his words. I am doing exactly the same thing, so they can’t complain.”

Thankfully the Mexican warrior came to his senses. He had to realize that besides Mosley the options were slim, and he risked further squandering the momentum and recognition he gained from making Miguel Cotto quit.

Also, Margarito could not ignore the critics who labeled him a hypocrite for engaging in the same type of behavior he hounded Floyd Mayweather for.

Now with the fight signed, fans will be treated to a war to kick off the New Year. And the winner will establish himself as the frontrunner for the #1 fighter at welterweight not named Paul Williams. Unfortunately for the Punisher, who fights at 154 lbs. this Saturday against Verno Phillips, the winner will likely ignore him for a lucrative rematch with Miguel Cotto.

Right now the early favorite for this bout should be Margarito, whose size, pressure, and iron chin will frustrate and grind down the older, smaller Mosley in the later rounds. Although I wouldn’t rule out a stoppage, Mosley’s heart and chin should be enough to see him to a clear unanimous decision loss.

What do you think?

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David Haye Passes Heavyweight Debut

Cruiserweight champ David Haye (22-1, 21 KOs) made a successful transition to heavyweight on November 15, as the cocky UK fighter battered contender Monte Barrett (34-7, 20 KOs) in route to a 5th round stoppage.

An omen happened during Barrett’s ring entrance, when the American tripped and fell flat in the ring after attempting to leapfrog over the top rope.

After a feel out first round, Barrett went to work in the second. He carried the round with a flush overhand right and two hard lefts. Haye took the shots well, perhaps reassuring some critics who were skeptical of how his chin would hold up at heavyweight.

In the third, Haye exploded with a huge left hook that dropped Barrett.  The end of the round proved no better as Haye again floored the American, this time with a surgical right uppercut. With Barrett in trouble, only the bell saved the tough journeyman from a possible early stoppage.

Round four compounded Barrett’s problems. An apparent slip was ruled a questionable knockdown, since Haye had grazed him with a hook before the fall. Later in round, Barrett fell victim to a fourth and very real knockdown, courtesy of a right hook.

In the deciding round, Haye hits the canvas from a slip but while down was cracked with a left hook to the side of the head. This prompted referee Richie Davis to deduct a point from Barrett.

Unfazed, Haye immediately regrouped and finished off Barrett with an impressive left-right-left hook combination for a decisive 5th knockdown to end the fight with 1:28 remaining.

Newly crowned WBC champ Vitali Klitschko watched the fight from ringside, no doubt scouting Haye as a potential opponent for his brother.

This is the first time in YEARS that there has been any real interest in the heavyweight division. Although it remains to be seen if Haye can withstand a clean punch from a towering Klitschko, his boldness and cocksure attitude is exactly what the division needs.

Jones-Calzaghe PPV Numbers Underwhelm

Reports have circulated that the PPV numbers for the Jones-Calzaghe fight have fallen way short of expectations.

According to Doghouse Boxing, the yet to be officially released figures show the card did below 225,000, well short of the 500,000 amount HBO expected.

While I’m sure those involved will try to place blame on the economy, this should be a clear sign that the multitude of PPV cards is not what the public wants. And with Showtime and HBO cutting back their boxing schedules next year, let’s hope this pushes the networks to make more meaningful bouts and less “showcase” bouts.

Taylor Outboxes Lacy

Former middleweight champ Jermain Taylor (28-2-1, 17 KOs) secured his first win since May 2007 after thoroughly outpointing a listless Jeff Lacy (24-2, 17 KOs) to a decisive unanimous decision on November 15.

Taylor, making his debut in the super-middleweight division, kept Lacy on the outside throughout the bout with a stiff jab and jarring uppercut whenever “Left Hook” would lunge forward.

That pattern gave Taylor the first four rounds comfortably, and on several occasions Lacy was forced to hold after being stunned by straight and overhand rights.

The 5th round caused a brief scare for Taylor. The Arkansas native was dropped by a clubbing right hand that was ruled a slip. However, Taylor went into a defensive shell and allowed Lacy’s erratic pressure to carry the round.

For the rest of the fight, Lacy could not find an answer for Taylor’s jab, and fought against his strengths by spending long stretches on the outside attempting to box.

Lacy’s inside game remained mostly unsuccessful. Whenever the Florida native made attempts, he would push his punches forward leaving himself vulnerable to uppercuts when Taylor took a step back, or careening into Taylor when he didn’t which smothered Lacy’s punches.

Scores for bout were all for Taylor: 118-110 and 119-109 (twice).

Supposedly, Taylor’s promoter Lou DiBella is banking on a Calzaghe showdown now that “Bad Intentions” is back on the winning track, or possibly the winner of the WBC title bout next month between Carl Froch and Jean Pascal (Taylor will be the mandatory challenger for the winner).

Unless Calzaghe is looking for a freebie in his final bout, Jermain Taylor should be put nowhere near the recognized super-middleweight and light-heavyweight champ. The Froch-Pascal winner is the best bet for Taylor, or if he’s feeling ambitious Mikkel Kessler.

For Lacy, his options are now limited outside of ESPN or Versus cards. In order to get some name recognition, he may want to consider a fight with the dangerous, iron-chin contender Librado Andrade.

Throwback Fighter of the Week: Alexis “Explosive Thin Man” Arguello

Multi-division champion Alexis Arguello was one of the lighter weight fighters that helped carry boxing during the late 70s and early 80s.

The Nicaraguan started his career in 1971 at featherweight. After a 3 year span of brutal KOs, he lost his first title shot by decision to experienced veteran and WBA featherweight champ Ernesto Marcel. But due to Marcel’s immediate retirement, Arguello secured another title shot later in the year.

Not wasting the 2^nd opportunity, Arguello won the title by stopping Ruben Olivares in 13 rounds. He defended the title three times, winning all of them by knockout.

In 1978, he moved up to super-featherweight and battered tough

Alfredo Escalera, flooring him in the second and stopping him on cuts in 13 rounds to win the WBC super-featherweight title.

Although he dropped a close non-title decision to Vilomar Fernandez in 1978, he defended the title six times, winning all by knockout including a memorable brawl with Hall of Famer Bobby Chacon.

Moving up for a third time in 1981, Arguello knocked out WBC lightweight champ Jim Watt, and KO’d an undefeated Ray Mancini in 13 rounds in his first defense. He defended the title three more times all by KO before attempting to be the first man in history to win titles in four weight classes. The one man that stood in his way was WBA 140 pound champ Aaron Pryor.

In their first classic brawl in 1982, Arguello struggled to keep the relentless Pryor off him. The champ walked through everything Arguello threw, and eventually the challenger succumbed to a brutal barrage of hooks against the ropes to lose by TKO in the 14th.

However, the bout was marred on controversy due to Pryor’s manager trainer Panama Lewis using a mysterious black bottle that had an unverified mixed substance. Pryor did not provide a post-fight urine sample, which lead to a 1983 rematch.

The rematch saw Pryor beat Arguello worse, dropping him in the first round and again for good in the 10th. Although Arguello was lucid after the last knockdown, he stayed down knowing he could not hurt Pryor at this weight and the contest was hopeless.