By Reynaldo Sanchez: The former two-time world champion Paul Malignaggi trains every day at the 5th St. GYM in Miami, Fla in getting ready for his upcoming fight against Gabriel Bracero on July 30th at the Barclays Center in NY. Malignaggi will be fighting on the undercard of the Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton card.
Malignaggi spoke to Ringsidefightingnews about the development of his training camp. Malignaggi also chimed in on the upcoming fight between Genaddy Golovkin and Kell Brook on September 10 at the O2 Arena in London, England:
What do you think about the fight Golovkin-Brook?
“Kell Brook is a great fighter, and is one of the best in his weight 147 pound. He’s possibly also good at super welterweight. But in my opinion, Golovkin is the best middleweight in the world. I want to see him fight the best middleweights in the world. I understand that the big names at middleweight do not want to fight with Golovkin, but he has other options and opponents who want to deal with him. Tureano Johnson is one of the contenders with an equal chance. There’s Sebastian Heiland, who defeated Mathew Macklin and is a powerful fighter from Argentina who always come to bring great fights. Those two are good fights.
However, I understand why he chose Kell Brook and not the others. Kell Brook is a big name in the welterweight division, and no one wants to fight him. Brook also needed a big fight because he could not get his weight rivals. Golovkin and Brook each had the same problem in their weights.
Kell Brook is a bigger name than Tureano Johnson and also a bigger name than Sebastian Heiland. I do not know if Brook is qualified to fight Golovkin, but Kell has more reputation than Johnson and Heiland. To sell a boxing match, they need the reputable boxers and for that reason I understand the Brook-Golovkin fight.
This is a dangerous fight for Brook, not only for his career but also for their health. Golovkin is not only the best middleweight; Genaddy is the most powerful puncher in this weight class. It’s a tough fight. Brook is a great fighter at welterweight. People think about the old days, and mention fights like Napoles-Monzon, but they forget that back during those times they had to weigh the same day. Today is different. When you enter the ring you have fights against a man who was rehydrated and over two or three divisions above what he weighed in at. It’s harder to do that in this era that in the old days,” said Malignaggi.