Despite scoring the fight for Broner 115-113, I must say that I wasn?t really impressed by what I saw from ?The Problem?.
Broner of course, picked up his third world title by earning Malignaggi?s welterweight title, which makes Broner a three-division titlist, and the first fighter since Shane Mosley (it?s been a while) to win a world title in their first fight in a new weight class, after jumping two divisions.
I?ll admit, I didn?t give Malignaggi much of a chance and picked him to lose by late stoppage as I felt he would box smartly for a few rounds and then get taken to the woodshed. Paulie instead stuck to his gameplan for the most part and showed us some world-class conditioning to stay competitive for 12 rounds. Unfortunately for him, his lack of power made most of his combinations nearly moot, which is a shame because he also dug to Broner?s body quite well.
As for Broner, his cocky attitude was in full display this past Saturday night and spent a good majority of it simply posing and talking instead of fighting. When he did let his hands go, you could see the flashes of skill, as he counters very well and obviously has exceptional speed. But ultimately, Broner just didn?t seem to think like he needed to do much to win the fight. Again, I still gave it to him, bu his performance wasn?t what many of us expected. In many cases, less is more. In Broner?s case, we want more.
– Speaking of last Saturday, the Mitchell-Banks fight sure did blow. Banks was patient early on and then exploded, nearly putting Mitchell on his back, but after that early opportunity, it just looked like Banks stopped trying or was just thinking about what he was going to do instead of doing it. Mitchell for his part, just played it safe and looked happy to make it to the finish line, though he did offer up more offense. I?m convinced Mitchell isn?t going to go very far. While a really nice guy, he doesn?t seem to have much of a chin and is still pretty raw.
– Today marked the first stop of the press tour for Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez and the hype train has officially begun. At this point, I?m still going with Floyd to win a decision, but I do like the fight a lot. It?s simply the hottest fight that can be made at this point in time and I was surprised by how quickly it actually came to pass ? for that, kudos to both sides.
Though I?ve never been a huge fan of catchweights, I?d prefer to see them created than to not have a fight at all. I do think that Alvarez having to come in two pounds lighter could have some negative repercussions for the 154-pound titlist but I?m glad he had the intestinal fortitude to move forward with the fight anyway. Don?t be surprised however, if Alvarez comes in something like 15-20 pounds heavier than Mayweather on fight night.
Punching power is Alvarez? strong point and he?ll need to cut off the ring to keep Mayweather in front of him, but if his last few fights have taught us anything, is that he has some problems with mobile fighter and is there to be hit. Let?s just hope for an entertaining clash as the atmosphere should be electric.
