Paulie Malignaggi vs Zab Judah: Brooklyn's finest

By Peter Wells (@boxingsaddler): 


Turf War: Judah(left) and Malignaggi(right) representing their
neighbourhoods in Brooklyn

In any sport local derbies always have that little more edge to them, and boxing is no exception. So when two Brooklynites collide at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, home of the Brooklyn Nets, there will be an added ingredient to an already spicy main event.

Firstly this contest between Paulie Malignaggi and Zab Judah likely would not have been the main attraction had both fighters not been Brooklyn born and bred, especially when you consider that Austin Trout-Erislandy Lara is on the undercard. Also you have to consider that both fighters are in the autumn of their careers and have a combined 13 defeats between them, 7 of those coming in the last 5 years. But never mind where they are right now in their careers it is where they have been that signals this as a fight that was always destined to happen, albeit many would have loved to have seen it a few years ago, better late than never I guess.

All this is not to say that Paulie and Zab aren't still world class boxers. Both are coming off the back of loses, but in those contests both gave their younger and fresher rivals more than they bargained for. Malignaggi 32-5(7) pushed Adrien Broner all the way before losing his WBA 'world' Welterweight title on a split decision, while Judah 42-8(29) gave unbeaten Danny Garcia quite a scare, before ultimately losing a close unanimous decision.

33 year old Malignaggi comes into the contest as the favourite, he's seen it all and done it all, sharing the ring with some of the best fighters of his generation, but he is a fighter who misses that defining win. You could point to a rematch win over Juan Diaz (UD 12) or an impressive stoppage of Vyacheslav Senchenko (TKO 9) on away soil as his defining victories but with defeats against Miguel Cotto (L UD 12), Ricky Hatton (L TKO 11), Juan Diaz (L UD 12) in their first encounter, Amir Khan (L TKO 11) and Adrien Broner (L SD 12). So as you can see while the enigmatic fighter only loses to the best, on most occasions he comes up short in those big fights.

If he is to defeat Judah, it is hard to say whether this will be put under the category of a defining win, considering his opponent is now 36 years old, or if this will be lined up in the same list as wins over; Lovemore Ndou (UD 12 & SD 12), Herman Ngoudjo (UD 12) and Pablo Cesar Cano (SD 12).



Malignaggi lands more but Broner scores the eye-catching blows

It's hard to argue against Judah's legitimacy in the Hall of Fame, his problem hasn't come finding a career defining win, it's been finding true consistency in his performances. He has been in the world title picture for over a decade, and was once one of the top fighters on the planet, and with wins over Jan Piet Bergman (KO 4), Junior Witter (UD 12), Reggie Green (TKO 10), DeMarcus Corley (SD 12), Cory Spinks (TKO 9) and Lucas Matthysse (SD 12), on his resume its no surprise why. But since 2005 Zab is 8-6 with 1 no-contest and his biggest win since his glory days was against Matthysse and most had the Argentinian ahead. Still wins over Vernon Paris (TKO 9) and Kazier Mabuza (TKO 7) have proven he is still a legit world title contender.

In his glorious career Judah has only been stopped on three occasions, Amir Khan (L KO 5), Miguel Cotto (L TKO 11) and Kotsya Tszyu (L KO 2). While other defeats have come against Cory Spinks (L UD 12), Carlos Baldomir (L UD 12), Floyd Mayweather (L UD 12), Joshua Clottey (L TD 9) and Danny Garcia (L UD 12). All 8 of his loses have come in world title fights.

So while Judah's resume sparkles, fighting does not take place on paper and Malignaggi comes in as the slightly fresher fighter and in good form. His victory over Cano was met with more than a few murmurs of a bad decision, but it seems now that Paulie may have just underestimated his challenger as he faded down the stretch, but Cano's work rate also seemed to cause the former champion problems, something Broner had little of.

Can Judah set a tempo that will trouble Malignaggi? At 36 that is a tough ask and it is likely to be fought at a pace that will suit both fighters, in terms of not fading in the latter rounds. Both boxers will also be heavily motivated for this contest, something that is vital at this stage in their respective careers.

Besting the best: Judah(right) dropped and stopped Cory Spinks

The winner will have more motivational fights on the horizon but for the loser it'll be hard to envision them receiving the contests that will draw huge interest.

Malignaggi has evidently struggled with smart, aggressive fighters and the speed of Khan also caused him plenty of trouble. Judah has both speed and smarts in abundance and will need every drop of experience to win this contest. If he can keep stepping in and out of range Judah can use his 2 inch reach advantage to full effect, especially if Malignaggi takes the back foot.

Both are tough and can take their fare share of shots, so it is unlikely there'll be an early ending in this contest, and every single round could be so crucial in what is expected to be a tactical encounter.

The pick is for Judah to aim for the body early, hoping he can slow Malignaggi down for later in the contest, while Paulie will look to counter Judah's leads. Garcia could hardly miss with the straight right against Judah and I expect Malignaggi to have the same successes here, taking the early advantage at the half way stage of the contest. Judah will begin to come into the contest in the second half, the left hand down the middle will no longer be aimed at the body, as Judah will start to land the headshots as Paulie's movement slows down. Unfortunately for Judah the late charge may come just too late again, losing a very close maybe spilt decision in a contest that grows more exciting as it goes along.