?He spent the whole night trying to land the same big shot and that same big punch that he landed in round one??
He?s personable. He?s talkative. He?s successful and he can fight. But, bottom line, does Paulie Malignaggi know anything about boxing?
That question may be impertinent, but judging by the number of people who had Ruslan Providnikov (23-3, 16 KOs) defeating Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) Saturday night, Malignaggi?s comments add fuel to the fire.
?I had it eight rounds to four for Algieri,? said Malignaggi, according to RingTV.com. ?There was nothing going on for Provodnikov after round one. The guy?s not making adjustments. There was not one adjustment made by Provodnikov after round one. I mean, there was not one adjustment, and that?s pretty simple. He spent the whole night trying to land the same big shot and that same big punch that he landed in round one and that didn?t happen for him. It just didn?t happen.?
Everyone adores sluggers. Who is their right mind doesn?t love knockout artists? But the sport is called boxing for a reason. What happened at Brooklyn?s Barclays Center is that one-dimensional Provodnikov got out-boxed, pure and simple.
Maybe Malignaggi was swayed by the fact that he and Algieri are both of Italian descent. Maybe the fact that he and Algieri hail from New York caused the Magic Man to fall off his rocker. Or maybe Malignaggi calls ?em as he sees ?em, which he has done repeatedly with little blowback.
Is this one instance where blowback is justified?
I, for one, am not convinced.
