?WHADYA like?? says Anthony Cantanzaro, owner of Portobello?s Pizzeria and Sicilian Kitchen in Manhattan and also Paulie Malignaggi?s manager. Feeling like I had to rush, I panicked and said, ?Meat, I like meat? and, as an afterthought, ?Jalapenos?. He swiftly returns with two of the biggest pizza slices I have ever seen, one a spicy chicken behemoth and the other a sausage edifice that defied belief.
Portobello?s, situated on Murray Street, is small but popular, especially at lunchtime, and as Cantanzarro?s most decorated client walks in, Paulie is almost immediately accosted by a fan asking for a picture. Ever obliging, Malignaggi accedes to the request and then joins me. He orders a light starter and a mammoth plate of pasta that, even before he tells me, I know he could never eat during a training camp.
He is hungry, he admits to being around 170lbs but the former IBF light-welterweight champion is happy. After four weeks of soul-searching following his stoppage loss to WBA king Amir Khan, Malignaggi is ready to begin the new phase of his career, at welter, and is full of praise for his most recent conqueror, having watched the tape of their fight.
?I saw it once, I saw a couple of things,? he revealed, for the first of many times delaying the flight of his pasta-laden fork from the plate to his mouth. ?Amir fought a very disciplined fight, stuck to the gameplan and never really got carried away. I don?t think they ever tried to knock me out, it just happened ? all that talk of ?We?re gonna? stop Malignaggi inside three rounds?, I never got the sense that he tried to knock me out. He just took what he had and got out. You see a lot of guys getting sucked in when they land punches and end up getting caught themselves so for a 23-year-old I was impressed with his maturity.?
Malignaggi?s lunch will go cold long before he is finished ? the portion may be large but he likes to talk and we are working on a rate of a mouthful every five minutes. Not only that, but Paulie?s beloved Italy ? for whom he will soon have citizenship ? are playing Mexico in a pre-World Cup friendly on at least two TVs at Portobello?s. Mexico are winning 1-0 and if not for some Mexican profligacy in front of goal, it could be four or five. ?At least the [mostly Mexican] staff will be happy,? quips Cantanzarro, as dismayed as Malignaggi at the Azzurri?s lacklustre performance.
?You know what really took me out of my gameplan?,? Malignaggi continues, warming to his topic now. ?I saw a quote from Freddie [Roach] saying, ?Paulie pulls out a lot but he won?t be able to use the pull against a guy like Amir, who?s tall with speed?. I knew that going into the fight ? my line of defence is rolling the shoulder and countering. If you?re tall and quick, even if I have him missing it?s hard to get back with my shots.
?So I had to get under his shots and the problem we had was every time I got underneath him, Amir would hold me down. That?s part of boxing but I had Steve Smoger for the [Miguel] Cotto fight and this fight and he?s a nice guy but the worst referee I?ve ever had. If you don?t give a fighter a strong warning he?s gonna? keep doing it and as the fight went on, Amir started hitting me when he was holding me. I don?t fault Amir for that, I do fault Smoger. Not the reason I lost though ? main reason I lost is that Amir?s a very good fighter.?
Malignaggi is happy to give Khan credit for most things but, as Mexico waste another gilt-edged chance and after Paulie laughably says he?s picked England to win the big one in South Africa, the Brooklynite focuses on Amir?s power ? or lack thereof.
?He?s not a big puncher ? he scuffs you basically,? Malignaggi states. ?I had a lot of scuff marks on me, a lot of scrapes and stuff. He might have power if he sits down on his punches a little bit more but that could take away from his speed.
?But Amir Khan should change nothing about himself. He has a very difficult style to deal with. He knows how to win rounds and when he takes control of rounds, he knows not to give it back to you. Against bangers like Cotto or Juan Diaz you can go toe-to-toe if you have to and you know that you can just go across the ring and find them. With Amir, you go across the ring, he might not even be there. He?s a very complete fighter ? he and Cotto are the best I?ve fought.?
Paulie, who listens to Italy?s malaise being accompanied by Spanish ? one of three languages he speaks ? commentary, is not focusing solely on the past. His future could involve Matthew Hatton and the European title but IBF kingpin Jan Zavec is another target.
?I saw highlights of Jan Zavec?s last fight on ESPN against Delvin Rodriguez and Rodriguez dropped him twice,? Paulie recalls. ?From the highlights Delvin beat the s*** out of the guy but they robbed him and gave it to Zavec. But from that, I?m not too impressed with Zavec.?
Italy lost 2-1, but Malignaggi, with his virtually unmarked features, slur-free speech and sharp intellect, is still ahead of the game.
