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 11th 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 4th 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 5th and 6th
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 7th.
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 8th, Malignaggi continued getting a beatdown for amazingly standing in front of Hatton and trying to exchange hooks. By the 9th,
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 11th.
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?Poll Answers
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 2nd
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.
From 1984 on, Arguello fought sporadically for financial reasons before retiring for good in 1995 and becoming a politician.
He is a second Latin-American fighter to win titles in three weight
classes and was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.
Alexis Arguello’s final record stands at 82-8, 65 KOs.
vs. Escalera
