Once again, and like so many other boxers who can?t let go, Paulie is still fighting but now the risk-reward is a dangerous one?
?There was a moment during Paulie?s post-fight interview when he began to choke back the tears. The Brooklyn crowd, many of whom had supported their fellow Brooklynite from the very beginning of his career, started cheering him on. Malignaggi, whose face was busted after a ninth-round technical knockout defeat to Danny Garcia, acknowledged them for perhaps the final time. Let?s hope it?s the final time. The brash, cocky, machine-gun talking Italian who reached the pinnacle of the sport despite having zero power, is absolutely shot.??Lou Catalano (Queensbury Rules)
Current European welterweight champion Gianluca Branco (49-3-1) doesn?t like fighting out of his home country Italy because when he does he usually loses. He lost to Matthew Hatton in the UK in 2010 and to Miguel Cotto in Puerto Rico in 2006. Way back in 2004, he traveled to Atlantic City and lost a competitive UD to Arturo Gatti. He did however beat Gabriel Mapouka Kongbo in France in 2001 to win the vacant EBU (European) super lightweight title
One of Branco?s better wins was his most recent when he stopped Poland?s Rafal ?Braveheart? Jackiewicz a year ago in Lazio, Italy, in a thriller in which both men hit the deck. The 45-year-old Branco went down in rounds three and four, while Jackiewicz was floored in the sixth and stayed down. ?Braveheart? has faced extremely strong opposition over the years, and holds wins over Jan Zaveck, Delvin Rodriguez, and Jackson Osei Bonsu among others.
This is all by way of saying that Brooklyn?s Paulie Malignaggi (34-7) seems to be on a collision course with Branco in an effort to win the European welterweight title and maybe get into a position for one final go at a world title.
Paulie?s first step in this ?plan? occurred recently when he easily beat Hungarian journeyman Laszlo Fazekas (27-21-1) in an eight-rounder in Milan. Paulie said about this win, ?I didn?t have a long time to train for the fight and I?d just come off a nice vacation in Europe and had a lot of weight to lose! I put in the work. I probably could?ve used the eight rounds. So I?ll take it like a good sparring session and try to work off that.?
The ?Magic Man? knows better than anyone that a boxer can grow old overnight. Malignaggi was mugged and concussed by a rampaging Shawn Porter in April 2014 and it happened so swiftly and savagely that no one could really tell if Paulie had finally hit the end. However, after he was battered by Danny Garcia this past August, it was clear that Paulie Malignaggi had grown old overnight.
Yet once again, and like so many other boxers who can?t let go, Paulie is still fighting but now the risk-reward is a dangerous one.
As Lou Catalano puts it in the Guardian, ?The problem is that once a fighter goes to battle with nothing but heart, he gets hurt. The good news is that, despite being one of the more polarising figures in boxing social media, nobody can dispute the fact that he?s brilliant behind a microphone. He?s outstanding as Showtime?s expert commentator and he?ll be doing that for years to come.?
If Paulie should fight Branco and win, let?s hope it?s the final time. Channeling such an event into another world title fight is just plain dangerous. Khan and Hatton delivered sound beatings. Cotto, Porter and Garcia delivered horrific beatings.
Win the European title in Italy and then concentrate on being Showtime?s expert commentator.
That sounds like a plan.
