Malignaggi: Keith Thurman doesn’t deserve to call me out

By Boxing News - 07/23/2012 - Comments

Image: Malignaggi: Keith Thurman doesn't deserve to call me outBy Dan Ambrose: WBA World welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (31-4, 7 KO’s) didn’t take kindly to hearing little known unbeaten 2nd tier prospect Keith Thurman (18-0, 17 KO’s) calling him out after he defeated one of Malignaggi’s prior victims Orlando Lora by a 6th round TKO last Saturday night in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Instead of being pleased with Thurman mentioning his name, Malignaggi took it almost as an insult, saying on his twitter “I heard this fool [Thurman] call me out! I got one thing to say about that!! Keith Thurman makes my name taste like a** when you speak. Don’t ever call me out when you haven’t paid your dues!”

You can’t exactly blame Malignaggi, because it’s not common for B level fighters in the 2nd tier to call out champions when they’re not even ranked in the top 15. But Thurman didn’t stop with just calling out Malignaggi, he also called out WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a fight. It just made Thurman look silly because the way he was talking as if he was a major player already, and not someone who had been running away from Lora all fight long.

Thurman won the fight, but after hearing so much hype about the guy for weeks now it was a huge disappointment for many boxing fans. They had come to expect that Thurman was going to be a big puncher with one punch knockout power and blazing speed, and what they saw was a slow fighter with power that was arguably a lot less than the other top welterweights.

Thurman’s game seems to be centered completely around his check left hook that he throws all the time. It doesn’t take a genius to see that he can be controlled with a jab and movement. Thurman doesn’t have much of a jab himself, and seems to load up with everything he throws. His left hook is a slapping hook and his right hand lacks power. He needs to learn how to punch and will need to find some power somewhere if he wants to amount to anything.



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