In what one of the most anticipated fights of 2013, rising superstar Adrien Broner (26-0, 22 KO?s) will put his undefeated record on the line when he challenges WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KOs) tonight on Showtime. The fight will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Broner and Malignaggi have engaged in a vulgar war of words in recent weeks and seem to genuinely have a strong hatred for each other.
?I am going to knock him the f*** out, ?said Broner at a recent conference call. ??I will make history on June 22. I can say that I?m going to f___ Paulie up. If the ref doesn?t? stop the fight in time, he?ll have to do his commentating with glasses on and that won?t be good.?
The WBA champion has been quick to point out the poor quality of opposition for Broner in his last several fights.
?There are a lot of things I can do against Adrien Broner,? Malignaggi said. ?He?s fought such bums you can?t even really make a comparison as to what will or won?t work (against him by watching his fights). The guys he?s been fighting have nothing at all.
Malignaggi, who won the belt last October, enters the bout on a five-fight winning streak. In his last fight, he narrowly defeated Pablo Cesar Cano by decision on the undercard of the Garcia-Morales rematch at the Barclays Center. Many felt that Malignaggi got a victory that he didn?t really deserve.
Adrien Broner enters the fight having already won world championships in two weight classes, and is considered one of the best boxers in the world. He has already accomplished more at the age of 23 than what most boxers do in a whole career.
However, he will be facing his toughest task to date as he is making a big jump in weight to fight Malignaggi. After winning titles at 130lbs and 135lbs, Broner will be moving all the way up to 147 pounds. Thus, he?s coming to this fight with no size advantage, and so there is little doubt if he?ll be able carry his power up. His last fight was at 135 pounds, and has never come into any bout at more than 140 pounds.
Malignaggi, on the other hand, has spent his last several fights at welterweight.
?They should have had Broner fight a live guy at 135 pounds before putting him in with live guy at 147,? he said. ?I?m his first live guy and I?m the heaviest he?s fought.?
Malignaggi, who won the WBA belt by beating up then-undefeated Vyacheslav Senchenko to a ninth-round TKO in the welterweight titleholder?s native Ukraine last April, vows to do the same to Broner.
?(Broner) will look like his face was stuck in a blender when the fight is done,? he said.
Despite his superior trash talking, Malignaggi enters the ring Saturday night as a huge underdog. He doesn?t have the strength or speed to match with Broner. He has also had a very poor track record in big money fights. It stars all the way back in 2006 when was brutalized over 12 rounds by Miguel Cotto. While he may have won some fans that night by proving his toughness, it just looked like he didn?t belong in the same universe as Cotto that night.
He was physically dissected by Ricky Hatton back in 2008, prompting his trainer Buddy McGirt to stop the fight. Malingaggi was irate at McGirt for the stoppage, and promptly let him go as his trainer after that fight.
The worst beating of them all may have been at the hands of Amir Khan in 2010. It was Khan?s first fight in America and he showcased it in grand style by carving up Malignaggi for 11 rounds before the referee stepped up to put a halt to the bout.
When you look back at those three fights, it?s not hard at all to believe that Broner will be able to do the same thing to the ?Magic Man? and become a three-time champion.
Many have called Broner the next Floyd Mayweather, and is destined to be the heir apparent to Mayweather as the top pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He possesses great speed and power. He likes to throw lots of punches from different angles and catch his opponent off guard. He has a solid defense, and is not afraid to stand in there and make it into a street fight. If Broner is to become a truly elite fighter, it seems as if he should handle Malignaggi on Saturday night.
For Malignaggi to win this fight, he will need to utilize that jab and footwork to keep Broner away.He does not want to make this into a street fight, no matter what he has said during all the pre fight drama. He?ll need to be tighter defensively than he was in his last fight. Cano hit him with ease in that fight, and certainly does not have the power or speed that Broner has.
If Broner is able to force Malignaggi into a street fight, then Broner should have no problems becoming the new WBA welterweight champion.
Prediction
If Malignaggi couldn?t handle Miguel Cotto or Amir Khan, then I see no reason why he would be able to handle Broner. ?The Problem? is the best talent in the sport of boxing right now and is on the way to superstardom. I don?t think he will have any trouble from the weight gain, and feels this will be his best fight to date.
