FLASHBACK: [Early Summer 2013]
When you walk into Sacco?s Meat Market in Elizabeth, NJ, you know right away you?re dealing with something real. This is the place that really inspired the fictitious ?Satriales? from one of my favorite shows of all-time, ?The Sopranos?. The food is authentic Italian, unbelievably fresh, and gives you this back in time feel.
I could almost hear and see Robert De Niro?s character from ?Good Fellas? talking to a real life Paulie Malignaggi over the most ridiculous sausage sandwich I?ve ever had in my life.
Born and raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, Paulie is a true Sicilian through and through. They don?t really know how to be contrived or disingenuous, and they have a practiced enthusiasm.
And he?s never been a caricature of himself.
Paulie’s like a young, good-looking, extremely articulate and fast talking Joe Pesci type of guy. He could?ve walked right on the set of ?The Sopranos?, sat right next to the late Tony Soprano and his crew without a script, and blended right the (you-know-what) in.
He?s so gifted- and this is outside of boxing.
The reigning WBA welterweight champion is naturally special in front of the camera for Showtime, and he has a bright future ringside whenever he decides to no longer enter it.
But for the love of Italy- he can?t beat Adrien Broner.
Putting all journalistic integrity aside I hope to God I?m wrong. I?m rooting for him. His iron-clad belief in himself and all-time great toughness, masks a huge power deficiency. He can?t punch well enough at the elite level of 147lbs, plus he got away with it for the most part at 140. He just happened to be one of the best of his generation there.
Now if he puts a hit on Broner tomorrow night and successfully defends his crown, somebody?s got to arrange a sit down and discuss making him a ?made-guy?.
For real.
PAULIE MALIGNAGGI VS. ZAB JUDAH
That was then- but this is now.
Who’s to say that Paulie isn’t a made guy after at least trying hard to put a hit on Adrien Broner? He didn’t win – and lost his WBA welterweight title- but Broner didn’t exactly beat him either. I don’t know too many fighter’s who can be so vocal in bashing the notorious Al Haymon- and then get signed by him.
Sounds like a successful sit-down to me.
While I thought Broner out-fought Paulie, he didn’t out-think him, and neither will his good friend fellow Brooklynite Zab Judah.
Zab and Paulie go way back, and he actually looked up to Zab, who was influential in the latter stages of his amateur days and early pro career. They don’t have any animosity at all, they like each other, and that’s not going to change any time soon. It’ll also be apparent when they fight.
Both are classic boxers, crafty, and really nuanced in the sport. Paulie is a master of intangibles. He’s not as fast as the southpaw Judah and he’s not as slick, but he knows his way around the ring for a solid 12 rounds with any elite welterweight on the planet. The thing is, neither he nor Judah is technically “elite”, but their chess match will be, and it’ll be an intriguing match to watch.
Paulie doesn’t have the power to hurt Zab at all, but what he can do is annoy him for 12 rounds. Zab has KO power and is capable of stopping Paulie, but that’s not going to happen. He’s too tough and technically skilled, plus he’s just a hustler with a lot of spunk and moxy.
Look for the “Magic Man” to do just enough to get a well earned UD win over his former mentor and close friend.
