Paulie Malignaggi

Paulie Malignaggi
Malignaggi in 2010
Statistics
Real name	Paul Malignaggi
Nickname(s)	The Magic Man
Rated at	Light Welterweight (140 lb) Welterweight (147 lb)
Height	5 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1.74 m)[1]
Nationality	American
Born	(1980-11-23) November 23, 1980 Bensonhurst,[2]Brooklyn, New York U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	38
Wins	33
Wins by KO	7
Losses	5
Draws	0
No contests	0

Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi (born November 23, 1980) is an Italian American professional boxer.^[3] He is a former IBF Light Welterweight and WBA Welterweight Champion. His nickname is "Paulie".

Boxing career

Light Welterweight

Malignaggi vs. N'dou

On June 16, 2007, Malignaggi defeated Lovemore N'dou via a 12 unanimous decision to win the IBF Light Welterweight Championship at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. The bout was one sided with one judge awarding the bout a 120–106. Lennox Lewis, who was commentating at ringside for HBO, described Malignaggi's performance as a "boxing clinic." After this win and the victory over Edner Cherry earlier in the year, Malignaggi was awarded the Ring Magazine comeback of the year award at the end of 2007.

Malignaggi vs. Ngoudjo

On January 5, 2008, Malignaggi defended his title against Herman Ngoudjo in a highly competitive match held at Bally's Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Malignaggi controlled the fight with his jab until he was stunned in the 7th round, but Ngoudjo failed to finish the job. After the seventh, Ngoudjo became ineffective with his aggression and came up short and lost a wide unanimous decision, which although fair, did not reflect the competitiveness of the fight.

Malignaggi vs. N'dou II

On May 24, 2008, Malignaggi beat Lovemore N'Dou in a rematch by split decision to retain his IBF title at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England. Malignaggi was in control for the first half of the fight, boxing behind his faster and crisper jab.^[4] Prior to the fight, Malignaggi was sporting hair extensions which proved to be a problem throughout the fight until his trainer Buddy McGirt cut them off in his corner between rounds eight and nine. Malignaggi appeared sloppy in the second half of the fight as N'Dou came back to make the fight close. In the end, Malignaggi pulled out a close victory and also suffered a fractured right hand in the fight.^[5] Malignaggi vacated his title on September 19, 2008.

Malignaggi vs. Hatton

On November 22, 2008 in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Malignaggi fought the The Ring and IBO Light Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton. It was billed as the boxer against the brawler. Hatton dominated and won every round but the first. Hatton rocked Malignaggi in the second and several other times during the fight, leaving Paulie to hold on, doing exactly what he publicly said Hatton does. With Malignaggi way behind on points, his trainer Buddy McGirt threw in the towel during the 11th round. Paulie till this day adamantly blames the training style of Buddy Mcgirt for the loss. He says Buddy was responsible for the negative changes in Paulies style of boxing leading up to this fight. A loss in which he believes he would not have suffered otherwise, pre Buddy Mcgirt or post.

Malignaggi vs. Díaz I & II

On August 22, 2009 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Malignaggi fought former lightweight titlist Juan Diaz for the vacant WBO NABO Light Welterweight title at a catch-weight of 138½ pounds. Unofficial HBO scorer Harold Lederman scored the fight 115–113 for Malignaggi, but none of the three judges saw the fight this way. Gale Van Hoy had it by an 118–110, Raul Caiz had it 115–113 and the other Judge, Dave Sutherland scored it 116–112, all in favor of Juan Diaz. In the post fight interview of the Juan Diaz fight (interviewed by Max Kellerman, HBO boxing analyst), Paulie was furious, stating that "boxing is full of shit." He also stated that the only reason he is continuing to fight is because of the good pay day.^[6]

A rematch with Juan Diaz occurred on December 12, 2009 in Chicago on HBO. This rematch went in Malignaggi's favor when he defeated Juan Diaz by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 116–111 in favor of Malignaggi. In the fight, Malignaggi threw more punches but only landed 21% of them while Diaz landed 28% of his, but threw less.

Malignaggi vs. Khan

Khan (left) and Malignaggi at the press conference on March 17, 2010.

Malignaggi's next fight was against Amir Khan in Madison Square Garden in New York on May 15, 2010. The press conference took place in London, England on March 12 while another press conference was held in New York City, United States on March 16. Malignaggi was stopped in the eleventh round by the referee. As the fight progressed, Malignaggi began to fall behind on points and the result began to get comfortable for Khan. He was very overmatched throughout the fight. This would be his last fight at Jr. welterweight, he had a very difficult time making weight for this fight and it showed in his performance.^[7] On September 28, 2010 it was announced that Malignaggi signed with Golden Boy Promotions.^[8]

Welterweight

Malignaggi vs. Senchenko

On April 29, 2012 Malignaggi fought against WBA Welterweight Champion Viacheslav Senchenko took place in Donetsk, Ukraine. Malignaggi won by ninth round technical knockout.

Malignaggi vs. Cano

Malignaggi then went onto defeat Pablo César Cano via split decision on October 20, 2012, on the undercard of Erik Morales and Danny Garcia rematch.

Malignaggi vs. Broner

Malignaggi then accepted a challenge made by Adrien Broner to be his first opponent outside his natural weight limit between 130–140 (between the boxing weight divisions of super featherweight and junior welterweight), jumping up all the way up to 147 pounds (the boxing weight division of welterweight). Malignaggi lost to Broner in a split decision, with one judge scoring the fight 115-113 for Malignaggi, and the other two scoring 117-111 and 113-115 for Broner. Many ringside observers had Malignaggi winning this fight.

Judah (left - from Brownsville) and Malignaggi (from Bensonhurst) at their press conference in October, 2013.

Malignaggi vs. Judah

Two time champion Malignaggi was set to face fellow Brooklyn native five time champion Zab Judah. In the main event of a Showtime card on December 7, in his third consecutive fight at the Barclays Center, Malignaggi was ruled "knocked down" in the second round, although he pleaded it a slip. He went on to dominate the rest of the fight to win in 12 rounds via unanimous decision.^[9]

Professional boxing record

33 Wins (7 knockouts, 26 decisions), 5 Losses (2 knockouts, 3 decisions), 0 Draws[10]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" | Win	33–5	Zab Judah	UD	12	2013-12-07	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York	Won vacant NABF Welterweight title.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	32–5	Adrien Broner	SD	12	2013-06-22	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York	Lost WBA Welterweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	32–4	Pablo César Cano	SD	12	2012-10-20	Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York	Cano failed to make weight so the title was not at stake.[11]
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	31–4	Vyacheslav Senchenko	TKO	9 (12), 1:10	2012-04-29	Donbass Arena, Donets'k	Won WBA Welterweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	30–4	Orlando Lora	UD	10	2011-10-15	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	29–4	José Cotto	UD	10	2011-04-09	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	28–4	Michael Lozada	TKO	6 (10), 2:33	2010-12-18	Pepsi Coliseum, Quebec, Quebec
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	27–4	Amir Khan	TKO	11 (12), 1:25	2010-05-15	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	For WBA Light Welterweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	27–3	Juan Díaz	UD	12	2009-12-12	UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois	Won WBO NABO Light Welterweight title.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	26–3	Juan Díaz	UD	12	2009-08-22	Toyota Center, Houston, Texas	For vacant WBO NABO Light Welterweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	26–2	Christopher Fernández	UD	8	2009-04-25	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	25–2	Ricky Hatton	TKO	11 (12), 0:48	2008-11-22	MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	For IBO & The Ring Light Welterweight titles.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	25–1	Lovemore N'dou	SD	12	2008-05-24	City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England	Retained IBF Light Welterweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	24–1	Herman Ngoudjo	UD	12	2008-01-05	Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Retained IBF Light Welterweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	23–1	Lovemore N'dou	UD	12	2007-06-16	Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Connecticut	Won IBF Light Welterweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	22–1	Edner Cherry	UD	10	2007-02-17	Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, New York
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	21–1	Miguel Cotto	UD	12	2006-06-10	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	For WBO Light Welterweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	21–0	Donald Camarena	UD	10	2006-02-10	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut	Won WBC Continental Americas Light Welterweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	20–0	Jeremy Yelton	UD	8	2005-08-25	Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	19–0	Sandro Casamonica	TD	7 (12), 3:00	2004-12-04	Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, Arkansas	Won WBC International Light Welterweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	18–0	Ramiro Cano	UD	10	2004-06-17	Harrah's Laughlin, Laughlin, Nevada
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	17–0	Rocky Martinez	UD	10	2004-04-22	The Grand Ballroom, New York, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	16–0	Paul Delgado	UD	8	2003-12-06	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	15–0	Jesus Abel Santiago	UD	8	2003-10-24	Jimmy's Bronx Cafe, New York, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	14–0	Kevin Watts	TKO	6 (10), 2:09	2003-08-01	The Casino Ballroom, Hampton, New Hampshire
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	13–0	Shad Howard	UD	6	2003-06-03	Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Connecticut
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	12–0	Paul Delgado	SD	8	2002-11-23	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	11–0	Chad Lawshe	UD	6	2002-10-13	Regent Hotel, New York, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	10–0	Anthony Simpkins	TKO	2 (6)	2002-08-30	Cipriani's Restaurant, New York, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	9–0	Jadschi Green	UD	6	2002-07-26	Mountaineer Casino, Chester, West Virginia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	8–0	Andre Baker	UD	6	2002-05-30	Days Inn, Allentown, Pennsylvania
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	7–0	Sterling Gethers	UD	4	2002-04-12	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	6–0	Antonio Young	UD	6	2002-01-18	Huntington Hilton Hotel, Melville, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	5–0	Jose LaPorte	UD	4	2001-12-07	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	4–0	Cornell Jackson	UD	4	2001-11-23	Roseland Ballroom, New York, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	3–0	Luis Melendez	KO	3 (4)	2001-11-10	Fernwood Hotel & Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	2–0	Robert Sowers	TKO	4 (4)	2001-07-26	Roseland Ballroom, New York, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	1–0	Thadeus Parker	TKO	1 (4)	2001-07-07	KeySpan Park, New York, New York	Professional debut.

Acting and other media

Malignaggi has done print clothing ads that have been featured in magazines such as Esquire magazine, Playboy magazine, and Frank 151 magazine. He also had a small role in the movie Undefeated featuring John Leguizamo, and had a feature documentary on his life leading into his fight with Miguel Cotto titled "Magic Man," which later aired on Showtime. Japanese video game company Nintendo used him as the model for their character [[Little Mac (Punch-Out!!)|Little Mac]] in the new sequel Punch-Out!! for the Wii, and also featured him in the commercials as well. Malignaggi is a featured fighter in EA Sports' Fight Night Round 4 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Malinaggi is currently a commentator for Showtime and Fox Sports 1 boxing broadcasts.

References

External links

• The Official Website of Paul "The Magic Man" Malignaggi
• Paul Malignaggi Official Fan Store
• Biography of Professional Boxer Paulie Malignaggi
• Official Sponsors of "The Magic Man" Malignaggi
• Professional boxing record for Paulie Malignaggi from BoxRec
• Interview
• Magic Man Film Review
• Becoming a People's Champ