Shawn Porter vs. Paulie Malignaggi on April 19th, Winner Must Fight Kell Brook

By Michael Byrne - 03/12/2014 - Comments

brook324By Michael Byrne: Shawn Porter has arranged a voluntary defence of his new IBF 147lb title with the biggest available name, Paulie Malignaggi, but the IBF have stated that the winner must fight mandatory challenger Kell Brook within 90 days. This is great news all round. Porter gets to fight another big name after springing onto the big stage with his upset victory over Devon Alexander.

Malignaggi didn’t get his rematch with Broner, nor a fight with Maidana to get his belt back, but now he gets a chance to become a three-time world champion. And Kell Brook, after challenging Gary Russell Jr. for the award for the most consecutive tune-up fights ever, will finally fight for a title (assuming it isn’t repeatedly cancelled through injuries again, as was the case with his proposed fight with Alexander).

First, though, Brook must get through Alvaro Robles (17-2, 15 KO), current 147lb Mexican champion. This should be an easy fight; Brook should be looking to get his man out of there reasonably early. As long as Brook keeps his composure and doesn’t walk onto a big shot, it’s a basic victory in yet another tune-up for the 31-0 ‘Special One’.

Porter vs Malignaggi, on the other hand, is a very interesting fight. Two real slick boxers with little power but big points to prove. Porter needs to prove that he belongs at the top, and a win over Alexander doesn’t necessarily prove this. Bradley beadbutted Alexander into submission back in 2011 in a fight where Alexander was getting outboxed. Since that fight, Alexander was dropped by Lucas Matthyse and was fortunate to earn a split. He did take every round away from slugger Marcos Maidana (before Maidana was trained by Robert Garcia), but he picked up with IBF title in a snoozer against Randall Bailey, who is not a world-class boxer. Porter struggled to a draw against Julio Diaz in 2012, before earning a more clear (but not a shutout) points win 9 months later. So Porter is still somewhat unproven, and beating Malignaggi is his chance to silence any critics.

Personally, I favour Malignaggi in this one. If he can use the same kind of footwork and feinting he did against Judah, Porter is really going to struggle to get his shots off, and Porter doesn’t have the power to upset Paulie like Broner did. And although Porter is fast, he doesn’t have the blinding handspeed Amir Khan used to out-gun and overwhelm Malignaggi. Look for Malignaggi to earn a reasonably comfortable unanimous decision, and then go on to fight Kell Brook in July, probably in England because Eddie Hearn, Brook’s promoter, will offer very big money to get Brook a title shot in front of his home fans.



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