Danny Garcia Vs Paulie Malignaggi: Fight of the Week & Prediction

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By “The Aficionado” Alan J. Kindred

Over the last several weeks the fight of the week had focused on more obscure and lesser known lower weight fights, but this week the fight chosen for fight of the week, is the one with the biggest names. This fight between Welterweights (RSR #13) Danny Garcia, 30-0, 17 KO’s, and (RSR #10) Paulie Malignaggi, 33-6, 7 KO’s, features a number of interesting intangibles we can take a look at heading into their showdown. I am certainly not predicting a fight of the year candidate by any means, but for those fans who appreciate the subtle nuances of the sweet science, this one could be for you.

Garcia is finally making his long awaited move up to Welterweight after winning the lineal Junior Welterweight world championship. This move up has come on the backend of a few questionable performances. Garcia had struggled in winning a controversial decision over contender Mauricio Herrera, knocked out a way over matched Junior Lightweight in Rod Salka, and followed that with yet another controversial win over Lamont Peterson. Before these last few bouts Danny Garcia was on top of the world after defeating top contender Lucas Matthysse. Why he has had the drop off in performance isn’t clearly known, perhaps he lost focus after so much success, or perhaps making the 140 pound limit became too much, although the Peterson fight was fought above that weight.

The Malignaggi bout will represent Garcia’s first bout at the full fledge 147 pound weight class. Will he carry his power up with him, will he be stronger? That remains to be seen. Malignaggi is a former 140 pounder as well and represents a somewhat safe fight in a physical nature, because Malignaggi isn’t a puncher and doesn’t fight in a physical style. Malignaggi may not represent “safe” style wise however. Boxers who are crafty, move well, and possess a good jab seem to be Garcia’s Achilles heel. Malignaggi presents some of the same problems to Garcia that Herrera did, and most boxing pundits feel Herrera was the rightful winner in that bout, only to be robbed of victory. The real question is, how much does Malignaggi have left in the tank, because he is clearly not in his physical prime any more. In his prime he had more than enough to give Garcia fits of frustration, but at 34 years of age and being brutally stopped by Shawn Porter over a year ago, which Paulie will show up?

Paulie Malignaggi is at the point in his career where each fight could be his last on the elite level. Can he find one more great performance in him, or did he already have his last hurrah against Senchenko over three years ago? He has quite a few things going against him to pull this upset off. He is coming off of the longest layoff of his career, and he is coming off of a bad stoppage defeat. While he had been stopped before, to Khan and Hatton, it was never like what Porter did to him in a basic demolition. Over the last decade you can see Malignaggi’s resume is littered with a who’s who of the best fighters around his weight class. At 34 has he used up to much of his body throughout the tough fighting schedule he has endured? If he can muster up 85% of the fighter he was in his prime, we have a very interesting fight, because that style is a nightmare for Garcia. However if he comes out far removed from his prime, he could be one Garcia left hook away from retirement. He is expected to lose, but if he can pull this big win off, he could be slung shot right into a title opportunity, so a lot is at stake for Paulie Malignaggi, his career could be hanging in the balance.

The fight itself will be one of range and angles. Malignaggi will look to move on angle and work his jab at distance, while Garcia will look to cut the ring off and force exchanges trying to land his wicked left hook KO shot. It is a hard fight to predict, because you can’t know for sure how much Malignaggi has left. Also another factor is that even if the fight is close and competitive, will Malignaggi get a fair decision?

I wouldn’t bet on it. Don’t be surprised if somehow Malignaggi wins objectively 7-5, but the judges find a way to give it to Garcia. That is a lot of ifs however. Malignaggi could show up a shell and get whacked out early, he may show up well rested and ready to go. My official prediction is Garcia by split decision, but it is a tough call, mainly due to the long layoff of Malignaggi. Also who knows where Paulie is psychologically after being stopped in the manner he was. It’s easy to see why Garcia is favored in the match up. The winner stands to gain ground in the top 10 rankings of Welterweight, so a lot is at stake for both men. Garcia wants to prove legitimacy at 147 pounds and gain back the public’s love and respect, while Malignaggi is fighting for his career. Tune in Saturday night to see how it all unfolds.

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