?What?s up with my boy from Brooklyn, Paulie Malignaggi?? inquired Big Steve as we embarked on a Saturday morning hike up to Hollywood sign:? I have a soft spot for that pug. That boy couldn?t crack an egg with his fists, but he will box sox off you any day of the week.?
?Funny you should mention him,? I replied:? because I just ran into him this Thursday at a club show downtown, Los Angeles.?
A slick boxer from Brooklyn who had to reinvent himself more than once throughout his exciting up and down professional career, ended up at the famed Wildcard Boxing Club late in 2010.
?I think I am made for Hollywood,? said Malignaggi last March when I ran into him in Hollywood at a fight night for Matadors:? I am grateful I got to take in the Wildcard vibe with a lot of great sparring. I am very satisfied with the fact that I am out here and the training I am getting.?
Paulie made a geographical move as well as a move up in weight after a very disappointing bid at a WBA light welterweight title against Amir Khan in New York. Three successful fights later and a trip to a WBA convention did not go in vein for Paulie Malignaggi.
?Vyacheslav Senchenko, WBA welterweight title. It?s on!? exclaimed Malignaggi when I saw him this Thursday: I am excited I am ready to go. I am raving.?
Interesting development, I thought, since last time I checked undefeated Ukrainian champion, Senchenko (32-0,21KO) has been training with Freddie Roach at the Wildcard Boxing club.
?I am training with Erick Brown and Freddie is training Senchenko,? explained Malignaggi, 31:? So what we are going to do is I am going to leave and I am going to go to New York next week and Senchenko is here. I am going to finish camp in New York. That?s the deal for this training camp. It?s fine with me. I feel good. I?ve already started sparring. I?ve already started working. I am feeling good. I can?t wait to just keep peeking.?
?Where is the fight going to be at?? I asked
?Donetsk, Ukraine,? answered Paulie:? It?s funny right now we are probably training a mile away from each other and we are fighting on the other side of the world. That?s the way it goes.?
It might not be as funny as Paulie thinks once he gets in the hostile territory of undefeated champion from Donetsk, Senchenko, who has fought most of his fights there.
?My lawyer, Steve Bash is Ukrainian,? countered Malignaggi (30-4,6KO).
What about training in New York?
?I know all the gyms in New York. Everybody is family in New York, so I got options,? replied Paulie who is going to bring his trainer Erick Brown with him to finish camp:? Trinity gym, Gleason?s gym, Sadam Ali?s Boxing Academy, Church Street gym. It?s all family over there. I can go where I want. I will find proper sparring.?
?So when is the date of the fight?? I asked
?April 29th,? replied Paulie:? It?s on a Sunday. Tune in. We are trying to work out a TV deal where it will be televised in America, somehow, someway. But it will be on a Sunday, meaning in America it will be on a Sunday afternoon. Watch it. Don?t forget!?
