Broner’s trainer wants Malignaggi fight in June

By Boxing News - 03/05/2013 - Comments

broner33By Scott Gilfoid: If Adrien Broner’s trainer Mike Stafford has his way, Broner will be facing WBA World welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) in June at welterweight rather than having Broner waste time trying to chase WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns, who Stafford believes doesn’t want any part of Broner.

Stafford said to Nyfightblog at ESPN “If Paulie think Adrien’s not a welterweight…Adrien spars with middleweights. That fight [Malignaggi vs. Broner] sounds good…Adrien would come in around 141, 142. I’d rather have it in Brooklyn than in Abu Dhabi…I say June.”

Golden Boy Promotions can certainly make that fight if they’re willing to come up with enough money to satisfy both fighters. That may be difficult because both guys would want a healthy payday from a fight like that, and the only way that they’re going to be able to come up with that kind of cash is if HBO is willing to fork it over.

I don’t think that’s a fight that would sell on pay-per-view because it’s too premature for Broner to be fighting on PPV at this point. He needs a big named star like Manny Pacquiao or someone like that to branch over to PPV bouts. If you put him in with the weak-punching Malignaggi, and that fight won’t interest a lot of people.

The main problem is Malignaggi was already exposed by Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Amir Khan, and in his last fight he was almost beaten by 23-year-old fringe contender Pablo Cesar Cano. Malignaggi barely beat Cano by a 12 round split decision after being dropped by him in the 11th round.

Malignaggi says that Broner isn’t a welterweight, and that’s something he thinks will give him an advantage. Broner would be moving up from lightweight [135] to make the fight happen, but there’s not much difference between lightweight and welterweight. Some welterweights rehydrate to 160 after they make weight at 147 for fights, but Malignaggi’s not one of them. He’ll be slightly heavier than Broner, but not nearly as powerful or as quick.

It’ll be interesting to see if Golden Boy will try and make this fight or if they’ll choose to match Malignaggi against the much easier Diego Chaves instead.



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