Everybody hates the Bad Guy: Paulie Malignaggi

By Kirk Jackson: Paulie Malignaggi seems to be one of the more hated fighters in the sport of boxing, or at least by the common boxing fans that actually know of the Magic Man. Actually, there are plenty of people that want to see him disappear. Many may find him repulsive, arrogant, annoying, overly obnoxious, and the list goes on and on. It’s not just his personality that gets crucified by some of the fans, there are many detractors to his fighting style as well.

Some say his boxing style is boring because he gives plenty of movement, and is a hit and move style of fighter. There are complaints of Paulie clowning around too much, or not having too many knockouts on his record. And you know what, to a certain extent, some of his detractors may have a valid argument in some areas. Even I wasn’t a huge fan of the dreaded hair experiment in his second fight against Lovemore N’Dou back in May of 2008.

But you know what despite all of that, I like Paulie, I think he is great for the sport of boxing. Every sport, or genre of performing art, or any form of entertainment, needs its spark. Something to draw you in, keep you interested and entertained. A bad guy to mix things up, can certainly do that. Not to necessarily say Paulie set out to be a bad guy or anything, but it seems especially as of late, the role of being the “villain” has openly embraced him. Good guys need a spoiler, drama and controversy sells.

For the record, I think a majority of his hate is unwarranted, but accusing the current top pound for pound fighter in the sport of taking performance enhancing drugs isn’t going to help your cause and you be labeled negatively by most fans. I think Paulie is a funny guy, with his willingness to be honest and open is a breath of fresh air. Never one to hold his tongue, he has the raw and uncut language, and you never know what you may hear from him. Paulie has a provocative personality, a harsh honesty that you either love or hate about him.

He is a talented boxer, a practitioner of the sweet science. I’m sure there are a few flaws in his game, but there isn’t one fighter that isn‘t flawed in some way. And with flaws, many will bring up his lack of punching power. One of The main reasons for his slick style of fighting and low ko ratio is because of his often broke brittle hands. Despite his frail hands, he still has big heart and is the definition of a true competitor. Honestly just think about it. The fact that Paulie has to basically rely on out boxing or out pointing his opponents to secure victory because of his hand issues, is amazing, it makes me respect his boxing abilities even more.

Paulie Malignaggi has a compelling story. Coming from domestic disputes and hardships, bounced around between two countries, and being able to stay resilient and put forth a successful boxing career says a lot about his character. This is one of the great things about this sport, there are plenty of fighters that come from an unfavorable situation, and they are able to make something of themselves. There is also so many diverse personalities and backgrounds, this creates a huge melting pot of stories and cultures that anyone can relate to.

Because of the kind of personality he has, much is demanded of Paulie by the public, and honestly, he should be held to high standards. If you are going to talk a big game, you have to back it up. For the most part, Paulie has done that. There have been a few stumbles down the road against the likes of Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and Juan Diaz. At least the guys he lost to are world champions, and most people including myself believe Paulie won both fights against Diaz. Despite taking a high amount of physical punishment from Hatton, and Cotto more specifically in their respective fights, Paulie displayed a huge heart and iron will to continue with the punishment until the final bell. Or in the case against Hatton, Paulie continued to take a beating until his then trainer, Buddy McGirt, threw in the towel and stopped the fight.

Many things can be said about Paulie Malignaggi. On which ever side of the fence you choose to be on, you can either love him or hate him. This article isn’t intended to sway anyone from one side to another, but I think it’s important to have a certain level of respect for boxers, especially ones competing at the highest level. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and for whatever reasons, people are going to like who they like and vice versa. So on that note, for those in disfavor of the Magic Man, by all means, continue with dislike and poor opinion of Paulie Malignaggi. What kind of bad guy would he be if everybody didn’t hate him right?

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