By Kirk Jackson
It appears the well has run dry for the former two division champion Paulie Malignaggi 33-7 (7 KO’s).
In an attempt to make a bid for the Boxing Hall of Fame (his own words) and thrust himself towards potentially big fights in the welterweight division, Malignaggi challenged the undefeated Danny “Swift” Garcia 31-0 (18 KO’s) in front of his hometown crowd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Malignaggi was thoroughly dominated against the younger, stronger Garcia, suffering multiple lacerations around his eyes and getting clobbered around the ring, losing via 9th round TKO.
Although a legion of Manny Pacquiao fans are probably rejoicing in celebration in wake of this recent defeat for Malignaggi, as the “Magic Man” is viewed as a nemesis by many Pacquiao supporters.
For the Malignaggi supports, this bout served as a cold dose of reality that the end is near, or rather here.
This defeat can function as a humbling experience for Malignaggi, who was gracious in defeat, but a loss, or rather consecutive losses ending via stoppage, may serve as a wakeup call for the faded fighter.
Malignaggi lost three of his last four fights, with his only win against a fellow faded Brooklynite Zab Judah.
Malignaggi is 34-years old, a former two division world champion, faced the likes of Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Shawn Porter and the list goes on.
He has nothing to prove and he is a brilliant commentator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc1tL_g8bDI
Even with his post-fight interview, he illustrates not only his analytical mind, but displays why he is so highly regarded as a boxing analyst and color commentator.
Just as Malignaggi had to be extremely technical and at times rely on grit just to even stay competitive in various fights due to his often injured hands, it’s easy to see his passion and flair as a combatant, translate to the world of commentary where he has also proven to be quite successful.
It would be a shame to witness Malignaggi or any fighter for that matter suffer through unnecessary injuries and cumulative damage, especially when it’s obvious these fighters are only shells of their former selves.
Hopefully he follows suit with recently retired Argentine great Sergio Martinez and hangs the gloves up.
As for Garcia, various options and challenges await him in the welterweight division. Garcia did not look overly impressive, but he did what he had to do.
He appears to have carried his power to welterweight, as his saving grace whenever he is troubled appears to be his devastating left hook.
Whether his hook works against Keith Thurman, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, Marcos Maidana and slew of other welterweights remains to be witnessed.
The safest bout for Garcia going forward may be either a rematch with Khan or even a bout against Adrien Broner if they can rekindle some kind of hype.
The politics of boxing unfortunately may negate other interesting match-ups for Garcia, but things will manifest into fruition in due time.
As for Paulie Malignaggi, perhaps his last trick may be disappearing from the ring.
