By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten challenger Adrien Broner (26-0, 22 KO’s) is tired of WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi’s constant trash talking and he’s ready to knock him clean out and take his World Boxing Association 147 pound strap next month on June 22nd on Showtime at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Broner said on his social media site: “I’m ready to knock bit** a$$ Paulette out.”
Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) thinks he’s got the skills and the speed to hand Broner his first loss of his career. Indeed, Malignaggi thinks Broner is over-hyped and not as good as what a lot of boxing fans and writers think he is. Malignaggi sees Broner as a product of soft matchmaking by his promoters at Golden Boy.
I hate to say it but Malignaggi is correct in part. Broner has been facing a lot of weak opposition, but I don’t think it’s intentional. He’s been handcuffed by being stuck fighting in the super featherweight and lightweight divisions where there’s not a lot of talent.
Broner wanted to fight Ricky Burns and he tried to get a fight with Miguel Vazquez, but neither fighter has accepted the offers made to them by Golden Boy Promotions. Broner did beat Daniel Ponce De Leon at super featherweight, and he clearly was the best fighter at that weight.
Broner then moved up in weight to lightweight and beat the best fighter at that weight in Antonio DeMarco. The other top fighters, Richard Abril, Miguel Vazquez and Burns, are clearly a step down from DeMarco. Broner tried to get fights with two of those guys, but there’s no point in him wasting any more time in going after fighters that don’t have interest and/or a huge following in the sport.
Malignaggi is coming into the fight with Broner having been given the benefit of a questionable 12 round split decision over Pablo Cesar Cano last October. It’s hard watching that fight and seeing Malignaggi as having any chance whatsoever against Broner because Malignaggi took punishment and was dropped by Cano, and he’s not someone with a lot of talent.
Broner is much better offensively and defensively than Cano, and Malignaggi is going to have to figure out what he wants to do because he’s not going to be able to slug with Broner or beat him with his speed because Broner will negate his speed easily. Malignaggi is not going to be able to handle getting hit many times per round by Broner without hitting the deck multiple times.
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