Long time, no write. I apologize but August has been a very busy month for me. I recently changed zip codes and had sporadic Internet 
access. And when I have been online, a bulk of my time has been occupied with fantasy football draft preparation. Now that I am all moved in and have completed my fantasy football prep, I’ve got my boxing mojo back.
I’ve had a spotty summer so far, in terms of predictions, but I am pretty confident that Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz (34-2, 17 KOs) will defeat Paul "Magic Man" Malignaggi (26-2, 5 KOs) in their light welterweight battle on Saturday. Neither men can crack an egg with a hammer, but Malignaggi can’t even crack a joke with scripted lines from Dave Chappelle. This fight will experience a serious power outage, but that has never stopped either man, especially Diaz.
Interestingly enough, when I punched my numbers into the boxing fight predictor, all signs pointed to a close Malignaggi victory. However, even my own numbers can lie. Sure, Malignaggi has edges in the critical areas of defense, footwork and hand speed. But Diaz counters with a higher work-rate, a tireless attack and the Houston hometown advantage. To make matters worse for Malignaggi, Diaz will finally be facing a man that he actually hits harder than.
Malignaggi’s lack of power will be the reason that Diaz wins. The Baby Bull simply will not respect the incoming fire and will let off his own bombs in return. The Magic Man will not disappear on Saturday, but he won’t walk away with a win either.
Look for Juan Diaz to win a surprisingly exciting, unanimous decision over the always-game Paul Malignaggi (116-112).
Wow. Going into the fight, I was and still remain a fan of Paulie simply because he’s a fighter with tremendous heart and great skill. I hope you agree with me that he was robbed of a decision by some officials that clearly saw a different fight. Not only did Paulie fight one of the best fights of his career, but he displayed tremendous heart in and out of the fight. What will happen of his career, is anyone’s guess. I truly wish him the best and hope the he is able to put his career back on the right track.
Now, regarding all the controversy before the fight even started. I am curious to hear your input because I did not expect that much BS to go on with a Golden Boy production. Did boxing just trade in one Don King for the (soon to be) Latin DK? I expected more from Oscar and his boxing empire.
I hear you Gabe.
Unfortunately I missed it, I had a conflict.
I hear that Paulie Maggs got robbed but I have to take a gander for myself.
I hate to say it but when you have an elusive style, especially against the so-called bigger draw, it is very difficult to get a decision. I predicted that Diaz’s home-ring advantage would be huge and apparently it was.
But I want to see for myself – I’ll probably check out http://www.boxinghighlights.info.
I curious to hear back about what you thought of the fight (now that you hopefully saw it)?
@Gabriel: Gabe, I had Paulie Maggs winning 115-113 but I could see it being a draw, i.e. if you control for the hometown love. Going by the basic eye test, Paul Malignaggi won that fight though.