Ngoudjo exposes the "Magic" man

When I tune into Showtime, I expect to see second tier championship boxing. I definitely had my expectations fulfilled in watching Herman Ngoudjo batter Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi around the ring for fully 8 of 12 rounds. Not that the fight wasn't interesting or that it was a bad matchup, but the result (unanimous decision Malignaggi) was just unfair. The 8 rounds that I'm giving Ngoudjo here include 6 rounds that so clearly belonged to him that I can't see how anyone could have seen it otherwise. Ngoudjo had Malignaggi obviously in trouble at one point and stalked him relentlessly virtually the entire fight starting in round 3, when he figured out that the Magic Man's main trick this night was to stop punches with his face. Keep in mind that I tuned in to see Malignaggi outbox another blunt roughhouser, as he did Lovemore Ndou. Ngoudjo had other ideas.

At the outset, Malignaggi was snapping the jab and movingwell in the ridiculously outsized 20 foot ring that so clearly should have favored him. It looked to be a long night indeed for Ngoudjo where we could sit back and enjoy another boxing exhibition from Malignaggi. The Showtime piece favorably comparing Malignaggi to Willie Pep (or at least saying that "some" draw the comparison, that flatters Malignaggi) turned ironic by the fourth round, when Ngoudjo figured out not only that Malignaggi couldn't hurt him, but that his counterpunching was clearly as quick as Malignaggi's. While the Magic Man was clearly paying attention and making an effort, Ngoudjo was landing clean rights over the top of the jab and following Malignaggi in as he tried to back out after a jab or two to the body. I can't help but wonder why Buddy McGirt advocated a strategy of using jabs to break down the body of a marathoner like Ngoudjo (that's not a metaphor...they cited Ngoudjo's practically world class best marathon time of 2:32). Ngoudjo could have gone another 10 rounds, looked fresh all the way through and advanced so consistently and relentlessly that calling the fight the other way cries fix. Strangely, while Al Bernstein (the only worthwhile facet of most Showtime broadcasts) and I agreed, all three press row scorers and the actual judges all obviously had it rather lopsidedly for Malignaggi. When these things happen, I wonder if the judges aren't so thoroughly predisposed to believing in the superiority of one fighter that they can't see it another way. I came into the fight expecting Malignaggi to win, so perhaps my perspective when challenged by reality, swung hard the other way...but I feel certain I didn't so dramatically overcompensate such that I got four rounds wrong! (I had Ngoudjo taking the win by two rounds with at least one close round going to Malignaggi...the closest official score was a four round swing). At fight's end, Malignaggi looked every bit the battered fighter while Ngoudjo was untouched.

This seemed to me to clearly be a case of the judges favoring the fair skinned marketable boxer over the superior tougher native Cameroonian (who recently became a Canadian citizen evidently). Not to worry because Ngoudjo will be back (he was hardly the worse for wear, while the "Magic Man" looked truly beat up, swollen and bleeding from his left eye). Ngoudjo has only lost to Castillo by split decision and now in this robbery. The real tragedy would be Ngoudjo giving up or being shut out of continued title contention based on these kind of decisions. His style is rough and tumble (but every bit as quick as Malignaggi...something that I think stunned Malignaggi and which he could never psychologically get past) and he deserves a shot at a more legitimate belt than this dimestore IBF strap. The way to slow Ngoudjo will be to discourage him and make him go backward, because outquicking him won't work. Ngoudjo likely watched the Cotto fight and decided overhand rights and chasing Malignaggi when he tries to back out of the pocket was the best strategy...and it worked. Don't be fooled by the official scorecards. Chalk this one up as not only a loss for Malignaggi, but as proof of the template on how to beat him: come forward, jump in over his jab with a right hand and follow up with an accurate left hook, then keep coming as he tries to back, duck and dive away.

I give Malignaggi some credit for toughness and skill for sure, but having your biggest loss in which you suffered a fractured orbital bone and absorbed a tremendous beating be your calling card to the elite is a dubious qualification at best (the Cotto fight supposedly legitimized Malignaggi, when in fact it appears to have set the template that Ngoudjo followed). That said, with his mouth and his skin color he'll probably get some big fights sooner rather than later because he's proving so hittable and marketable at boxing's highest level. No wonder the IBF and Showtime couldn't have Ngoudjo win...they just signed Malignaggi on to a multi-fight deal! okay, so I don't know that...but it sure looks that way to me. One last note: shame on Al Bernstein for bailing out on his instincts so quickly when he saw the flawed press row scoring in about the 9th round...he showed all the backbone of Scooby Doo in a haunted house. You were right, Al. Own it.