Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz v. Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi

Well, folks...the undercard fights went the full distance and it's coming on midnight and I may as well type as I watch. My opinion of the fight is no different after watching HBO's Max Kellerman allow Malignaggi lay the groundwork for his post-fight objections. The Magic Man talked about the small ring, that he agreed to a lower than usual weight at weigh-in (138 1/2 lb.), that he'd been promised neutral judging and that the deck was stacked against him. Indeed, as I typed that line, HBO's Harold Lederman described that fully three of the four "referees" (presumably meaning two of the three judges and the ring ref) are from the Houston area. It's no secret that Baby Bull is a Houston native, much beloved and something of a minor industry there.

As Malignaggi does his ringwalk to AC/DC's "thunderstruck" in a tribute to Arturo Gatti, I can't help but wonder why Diaz' people went to all the effort to stack the deck as described considering that he is, in my opinion at least, a prohibitive favorite. Frankly, I tend to agree that it's a somewhat rigged fight considering that I too saw Houston's Rocky Juarez lose soundly to Chris John, only to be awarded a draw. Two of those judges are scoring this fight, as Malignaggi pointed out. As Kellerman points out, with these advantages "Diaz better win this fight...". If Malignaggi is indeed as drained as Kellerman says he looked after straining to make the lowered contract weight, then it could be an early night for him.

ROUND ONE - Malignaggi comes out firing and Diaz can't get off in the first thirty seconds. Malignaggi definitely getting the better of the first minute and Diaz not throwing...yet. Malignaggi not likely to keep up this pace. He's got a ten cent head and if he builds a lead, he's just as likely to squander it. I predict a classic case of finding something that works...and abandoning it. Malignaggi definitely doesn't have the juice, if Kellerman is to be believed, to keep up this pace. We will see. With the round coming to a close, Malignaggi still getting the better of it. Clearly faster and throwing more. 10-9 Malignaggi.

ROUND TWO - Malignaggi still up at start...Diaz flurries at the thirty second mark and gets back in the fight. The crowd is so badly biased that they cheer everything Diaz does...and until then had been silent. Malignaggi sticks his tongue out...but Malignaggi is cut over his left eye. Diaz starting to catch Malignaggi. Diaz is more effective with a minute left and on clean punches, it's Diaz' round. Malignaggi eating clean hooks. HBO announces Diaz is cut. Round for Diaz to go to 19-19.

ROUND THREE - When Diaz lands, he turns Malignaggi's head and Malignaggi's punches don't seem to have that effect. HBO's Kellerman says Malignaggi is landing some heavy leather, but I don't see it. Still pretty even at the halfway piont. I don't want to let the crowd's roars influence the way I'm seeing the fight either. Crowd boos Paulie moving away. Rough round, but I give it to Malignaggi...but I bet weighted judging goes the other way. 29-28 for Malignaggi.

ROUND FOUR - I match Lederman's card, which is never good news. Thirty seconds in, I see Diaz hammer Malignaggi. Kellerman discussing the disparity in crowd reaction. Malignaggi may have been wobbled. Hard to tell. He stumbled at the 1:45 mark rather badly, but otherwise shows no effect. Malignaggi moving and sticking, but Diaz' shots look better. Malignaggi can't back off Diaz predictably and Diaz can't wade in because Malignaggi is moving. A very close round, but I give it to Diaz...so it's back even at 38-38.

ROUND FIVE - Malignaggi sticking and jabbing very effectively a minute in. Diaz can't get set to punch and has to follow follow follow...finally at the halfway point, Diaz gets a chance because Malignaggi stops moving side to side and away. The crowd reaction is disproportionately pro-Diaz and it skews everything. One wonders with all the disadvantages, notwithstanding the judging, why Malignaggi took this fight at the contract wieght he did in Diaz' notorious backyard. I guess he too realizes that he's very much the underdog. I give the round to Malignaggi 48-47.

ROUND SIX - They are claiming that a second cut on Diaz left eye was caused by a "headbutt" though Diaz' corner seems to think it was an elbow. It's a bad cut. Diaz is fighting predictably with a little more urgency. Diaz moving his hands more, but only can do it because Malignaggi has stopped moving. What a mistake for Malignaggi. At the one minute mark, it' still pretty even, maybe leaning Diaz' way. Malignaggi starts to move again and spends the last minute circling to his left...and HBO notes that Malignaggi might be better served by trying to move right and work that eye. I give the round to Diaz, moving it even again to 57-57.

ROUND SEVEN - My card still apparently matches Lederman. Greeeat. Malignaggi told by his corner to box and not fight. The perfect instruction as pointed out by Kellerman, but Malignaggi isn't doing it. He's fighting. He's stopping and standing in front of Diaz. It's Diaz' round with a minute left because Malignaggi is circling, but not throwing. He's just moving in the last minute and not throwing out an effective punch. Diaz pursuing pursuing and landing here and there. This may be where Malignaggi is showing the wear of making weight. Makes sense. Diaz takes that round: 67-66 Diaz.

ROUND EIGHT - Malignaggi's corner sends him out telling him to "dance". I doubt he has the legs. Thirty seconds in, he looks okay, but Diaz looks a bit fresher. Neither fighter making a dent at the one minute mark. One guy dancing, the other guy pursuing. To Malignaggi's credit, I now see why Diaz' people stacked the deck: Malignaggi is clearly faster. Noticeably faster. Oh good grief...Bob Papa notices that Malignaggi is losing his trunks. This is the same knucklehead who wore hair extensions in his runup fight to Hatton and had to have a literal hearcut between rounds. Neither fighter deserved that round, but since Diaz didn't land a thing that I saw, I'll give it to Malignaggi. Diaz just followed ineffectively all round. Back to even at 76-76.

ROUND NINE - Finally, my card diverges from Lederman as he gave that last round to Diaz. Frankly, it was a toss up. Malignaggi lands effectively at one minute in. Diaz counters with a landed combination ten seconds later. Even halfway through. Malignaggi not effective and moving but not scoring. Diaz trying to cut off the ring and landing a bit, but Malignaggi is slippery but not really landing either. Another chased and chasing round. Give it to Diaz, making it 86-85 for Diaz.

ROUND TEN - Now Lederman has is 86-85 for Malignaggi...odd. I find it hard to like Malignaggi's failure to be effective even as he dances away. It's a fight for fifteen seconds at one minute in and Malignaggi gets the better of it. Now he's on his horse again. As Kellerman says, the "classic pure boxer against the classic pure pressure fighter." That's absolutely right. I see Malignaggi looks better right now...and actually trying to say something to the HBO crew. It seemed to be something like "I've got this...." At that point, he did. He has more left than I thought he would and Diaz has been less effective than I thought he would be because Malignaggi is clearly quicker and faster. Malignaggi takes that round, to make it even again at 95-95.

ROUND ELEVEN - Kellerman says Malignaggi still looks "lightning fast" and while he hasn't always looked that way in this fight, he does look good now. I would have expected the pressure to wear him out and it hasn't because Diaz can't land effectively. Malignaggi quick and fast enough to get away. Malignaggi shook his right hand the way he does when he's hurt it. Is he throwing it? Diaz basically not effective at all. Malignaggi is sticking and moving and while it isn't that effective, he's more effective than Diaz who is spending the whole fight chasing and almost all of it missing. Malignaggi's round and he takes the lead 105 - 104.

ROUND TWELVE - If this round goes as expected, we will see how much the Diaz pre-rigging worked because I think Diaz loses this fight. Diaz doesn't have the power to end it on one punch and Malignaggi all too likely to close the show. Will Diaz look desperate? Diaz buzzes Malignaggi and Malignaggi unfazed. Malignaggi stupidly standing in front of him. Diaz goes too low, but Malignaggi unfazed. Diaz' round at the halfway mark because Malignaggi stopped running. Now Malignaggi dancing a bit, but he doesn't seem to be landing. HBO's Lennox Lewis says Malignaggi looking "really good", but I don't agree. Diaz winning the round with thirty seconds to go. Malignaggi NOT closing the show. Close round goes for Diaz, making it a draw on my card 114 - 114.

116 - 112
115 - 113
118 -110

Unanimous for Diaz. Whoever "Gail Van Hoye" is, she ("he" according to HBO) should be removed as a judge because that's a ridiculous scorecard for this fight. Lederman gave it 115 - 113 to Malignaggi and it was unquestionably a close fight. While I can't say Malignaggi was robbed because it was so close in almost every round that many could go both ways, there is no way that any reasonable judge could have seen it at 118 - 110.

Wow...I forgot that Diaz is a Golden Boy fighter. There's Oscar right there in the background sticking his face into frame like a good promoter. Malignaggi is WAY outspoken in the post-fight interview, calling boxing "bullshit" and making clear that while he called Houston "a great fight town", there was no way he could win. Interestingly, basically ALL of what he said was absolutely true: Diaz is a "true warrior" but Malignaggi had no chance of getting anything but hometowned; that Diaz now has the luxury of calling out a Marquez for a rematch (which he did), but Malignaggi is relegated to opponent status; that boxing is essentially corrupt. He also asked Kellerman how HBO had scored the fight and Kellerman responded "close...7 rounds to 5" and Malignaggi had to force him to admit that Lederman had scored it for him. Paulie also had it right that he and Diaz played to their strengths as the aggressor and the boxer in the closing rounds and he thought he got the better of it. In seeming response (but not to Malignaggi's face) Kellerman climbed out of the ring and made a fair closing point, too...that the "marketplace spoke" in that Diaz is a bigger draw in his hometown because of his exciting style and contrastingly, Malignaggi's style has not allowed him to cultivate that type of following. Hence, Diaz gets hometown fights and hometown decisions.

This one was a lot closer than I thought it would be, frankly. And now I see why Golden Boy pulled out all the stops rigging this thing. They knew Malignaggi was quicker and faster. They made a contract weight a pound and a half under the limit to sap Malignaggi's strength. They contracted for a small ring. They filled the panel with friendly local Texas judges. All to tilt the playing field for their slower, more aggressive fighter.

Paulie...this is boxing...what did you expect?

Baby Bull or Magic Man?

We are just moments from the beginning of a telecast on HBO of a fight that will mark the end of one of the two marquee fighters' career as any part of a discussion of the current elite of their division. With Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi having been stopped by Ricky "The Splitman" Hatton and Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz having been stopped by Juan Manuel Marquez, each of these guys has now lost the most recent of their two respective biggest fights on the biggest stages. While both are still pretty young (though Diaz is chronologically younger, because he leads with his face, he might be older in fighter years), fans are going to stop thinking of one or the other of them as a real contender, based on tonight's fight. The one will remain in the mix with his fans figuring that on his best night he can stand in with anyone in the division and the other will become a gatekeeper fighter, probably relegated to filling out an undercard and perpetually trying to claw his way back to marquee status.

The one will be Diaz and the other will be Malignaggi, there is little doubt. While Malignaggi is no less a warrior at heart than Diaz, his style is all wrong for Diaz and he will surely get the worst of this matchup. At his best, he is a dancing jabber who picks his spots. That he is also a light puncher for the elite level of the division seals his fate because Diaz has shown (as has Paulie, to his credit) that he is able and willing to absorb punishment to achieve his aims. Unfortunately for the Magic Man, Diaz dishes out a LOT more punishment than does Malignaggi because he punches at probably twice the output. While Diaz is not particularly heavyhanded either, the accumulation of damage is his calling card and he is a workrate fighter who is as committed and skilled at his particular style as any. Until he got caught once too often by Marquez, he was both deep into and right in that fight on my card and as anyone knows, Marquez is unquestionably among the best fighters in the world, irrespective of division.

If the fight turns out to be worth reporting on, I will post again, but the outcome seems pretty well assured: Diaz by TKO in the 10th. Malignaggi is a tough guy and he may last the distance now that he has ejected Buddy "I protect my fighters by humiliating them" McGirt from his corner, but the outcome is pre-determined as far as I'm concerned.