This December 7th is more than just the 72nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor. It is also a huge Showtime fight night in Brooklyn, New York. You know it’s set to be a big night when the undercard features Sakio Bika vs. Anthony Dirrell for the WBC Super Middleweight Title; Austin Trout vs. Erislandy Lara; and Devon Alexander vs. Shawn Porter for the IBF Welterweight Title. The headliner is better still, pitting two veterans of 140 and 147 lbs against each other in an all-Brooklyn, crosstown rivals fight that is exciting even without a belt at stake: Zab “Super” Judah vs. Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi.
Paulie Malignaggi (32-5, 7 KOs)
- 5’8″ tall, 70″ reach, 32 years old
- Former light welterweight and welterweight champion
Malignaggi is a classic overachiever and solid contender. I call him “overachiever,” because he has gone far despite being the most feather-fisted boxer of active world standing. He is durable, slick, and a gifted technician, but the man simply cannot hit.
Even so, his five defeats are deceptive, since one of them was a Texas robbery against Juan Diaz (Malignaggi handily won the rematch). The others have all been against top flight opponents who were in their stride: Miguel Cotto; Ricky Hatton; Amir Khan; Adrian Broner. Even the mere seven kayos is somewhat deceptive, because if Malignaggi can’t crack he can still bust-up with good contact, as Vyacheslav Senchencko discovered. Make no mistake: it takes a well-rounded, world class guy to beat the Magic Man.
Zab Judah (42-8, 29 KOs)
- 5’7 1/2″, 72″ reach, 36 years old
- Former three-time light welterweight champion; former Undisputed World Welterweight Champion
Zab Judah has been a fixture on the 140 and 147 lbs scene for 15 years now, with his first noteworthy fight being a 1998 clash with Mickey Ward for a U.S. title. He has always been a versatile boxer-puncher, gifted with speed, power, and skill. At the same time, for much of his career he was handicapped by lapses of concentration in the ring. Perhaps the saddest aspect of Judah’s career is that as his physical gifts have eroded, so have his focus problems. Nowadays Judah rarely spaces out in the ring, and never does so as completely as he used to. Judah also has a merely average chin, and is susceptible to knockouts at the hands of quick, explosive punchers.
Judah vs. Malignaggi Preview & Analysis
“Explosive puncher” is a term that not even a fool would apply to Malignaggi, so Judah needn’t worry about his chin in this one. Instead, this is a match-up between a pure boxer and a boxer-puncher.
Judah certainly isn’t the strongest fighter Malignaggi has ever faced, nor the fastest or the biggest puncher. The thing is, he lost to all those guys who were stronger, more powerful, and faster than Judah, and Judah isn’t that far behind any of them on top of being the single craftiest and most experienced man Malignaggi has ever fought.
Conversely, Judah loses only to guys who can at least match him in the speed or boxing ability department and pack a big wallop along with it. The sole exception to that rule was Cory Spinks, and that was back during the height of Judah’s “fuzzy focus” period. Judah hasn’t been like that for years, and assuming he doesn’t either age harshly overnight or take Malignaggi for granted, it’s hard to see him losing.
Judah vs. Malignaggi Prediction
Judah will come out aggressively, looking to stamp his authority on the notoriously light-handed Magic Man. His crosstown rival won’t make it each, however, but ultimately Malignaggi doesn’t have a clear edge in any department except sheer durability. If Judah slacks off, Malignaggi will make him pay for it, but if Judah works hard he should hem Malignaggi in and beat him.
Prediction: Zab Judah UD12 Paulie Malignaggi
