November 22nd, 2008 will forever be a night that Paulie Malignaggi will regret.
Fighting in an HBO-televised junior welterweight unification tilt against England’s beloved Ricky Hatton, Malignaggi offered up a performance that beguiled his vast array of skills and overall ability as a pro. For nearly eleven frustrating rounds Malignaggi’s polished boxing style was swamped and deemed ineffective by Hatton’s aggressive attack until trainer Buddy McGirt threw in the towel to end the bout.
Showing noticeable anguish upon the fight’s ending, that loss is still something that sticks with the Brooklyn fighter nearly two and a half years later.
“That’s probably the hardest loss to take in my whole career,” Malignaggi told me recently of the Hatton defeat. “Out of all the losses I’ve taken. People might think it’s the Juan Diaz loss but it’s the Ricky Hatton loss. It was the hardest one to take. Nothing went right beforehand all the way to the fight; everything was a disaster. I looked terrible against a guy I always feel I could have outclassed. It will always something that I will never get over. That one’s going to come to my grave with me.”
News flash: Juan Manuel Marquez now unsure on trilogy with Manny Pacquiao
Next weekend Malignaggi will return to the scene of the crime, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, as he faces off with Jose Miguel Cotto in a welterweight pay per view attraction underneath Marcos Maidana’s battle with Erik Morales. Despite admittedly not having set foot back into the MGM since the Hatton defeat, Malignaggi stayed in the public’s eye afterwards by splitting a pair of fights against Houston’s Juan Diaz and serving as WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan’s first American foil nearly a year ago in New York.
The Cotto fight isn’t as much a high-profile encounter as the 30-year old Malignaggi is used to be he concedes that it is a move in the right direction.
“I’m just excited to get back in the ring,” Malignaggi remarked. “I think it’s a big show, being on HBO pay per view. I’m excited to be back on a bigger stage at least. My last fight I fought in a big arena but I didn’t get any T.V. coverage. I’m just glad that I’m on a big card against an opponent who is pretty well known. It’s the next step up the ladder. I’m moving my way back up, slowly but surely. One or two more wins and I will probably be ready for a title shot at welterweight.”
Cotto isn’t as decorated as his younger brother Miguel Angel, the reigning WBA junior middleweight champion of the world, but he is a capable pug who likes to apply pressure and is known best for his losing efforts to Diaz nearly five years ago and most recently to Guadalajara’s Saul Alvarez. When assessing his next foe, Malignaggi pays his respect but not without offering up a blunt forewarning.
“I think he’s a game fighter,” Malignaggi says of Cotto. “He comes ready to fight. Offensively it seems that a Paulie Malignaggi should handle him pretty easily. The good thing about him, I don’t think I will have a tough time beating Jose Miguel Cotto. I think he’s just short of elite and I think I’m at an elite level. I have plenty left in the tank as far as being able to compete at an elite level and I think if you are at an elite level, you have to handle Jose Miguel Cotto.”
Much has changed for Malignaggi since his days as a champion at 140 pounds as he has a new team around him, highlighted by his venture with Golden Boy Promotions, and is now training out of the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles for his second consecutive bout. I asked Paulie how his preparation was for Cotto and he seems to have immersed himself just fine into his new stomping grounds.
“Same as it was for the last camp,” said Malignaggi. “Hard work and a lot of good fighters. Wild Card Gym is mixed with a ton of good fighters. Some of them are known; some of them are good fighters who haven’t had their breaks. There are a lot of young and upcoming fighters and all the while you have a lot of great sparring. Everyone can fight and you can always mix and match sparring and get top of the line work.”
In the news: HBO’s Larry Merchant says Donaire’s decision was a business move
Speaking on the Cotto opportunity further, Malignaggi insists that returning to the MGM Grand isn’t something that he dwells upon too much, instead trying to look at this as just another fight. Malignaggi also went on to point out that while he may have had more potential as a fighter during his younger days, that he is in a much better place in his career now with his new surroundings.
Malignaggi’s defeat to Khan last May was a striking one and the swagger that he used to possess has seemed to be exchanged for a steely demeanor of a veteran who realizes this could be his last run in the sport. There are many more hurdles to jump but Paulie Malignaggi wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Having signed with Golden Boy, any opportunity that comes my way may come as a surprise to some people but at the end of the day I look at it as a blessing. Because a lot of people think I shouldn’t be here or that I wouldn’t be at this level anymore. I have a lot to prove to a lot of people and I have a lot to prove to myself. I’ve never doubted myself but I still have a lot to show to myself. I’m happy and I’m excited.”
