Malignaggi vs. Bracero punch stats

By Boxing News - 07/31/2016 - Comments

malignagi7

By Eric Baldwin: Paulie Malignaggi (36-7, 7 KOs) put in a dominating performance in defeating Gabriel Bracero (24-3, 5 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision last night in front of a large crowd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. At times, it looked like the classic Malignaggi that we’d seen from him in the past in out-boxing his opponent and looking very sharp.

Malignaggi looked surprisingly good for a fighter 35-years-old, who has a major gif working as a boxing commentator for Showtime Sports. Malignaggi looked a lot better than he did a year ago in getting stopped in the 9th round by Danny Garcia in August 2015. Malignaggi didn’t have the punching power to compete with Garcia in that contest.

The judges scored the fight 98-92, 98-92 and 96-94.

Malignaggi landed 164 of 486 punches for a connect percentage of 35. Rojas connected on 134 of 470 punches for a connect percentage of 29.

“I had better nights for sure,” said Malignaggi after beating Bracero. “I felt it was a good fight for me. I’m not sure how to progress from here. It’s three wins in a row or if do progress or call it a night. We’ll see. I have a lot of thinking to do. I’m not totally finished, but at the same time, I do have some thinking to do as far as which direction to go in. I do have this TV job. It’s hard to walk away from fighting. I’m wrestling about it right now. I have to go home and think about it. I have realistic goals,” said Malignaggi.

It seems that Malignaggi is having serious considerations about whether he should continue his pro career or not. He didn’t make big money last night for the Bracero fight, and it’s unlikely that he’ll get the kind of payday that he received last year against Danny Garcia in any of his future fights.

It’s possible though. If Malignaggi could beat a contender in one of the weight classes, then he could put himself in position for a world title shot. However, moving down in weight, Malignaggi won’t likely get the kind of payday that he would if he were to fight for a title at 140 or 147.

The 35-year-old Bracero was an upgrade for Malignaggi from his last two opponents Antonio Moscatiello and Lazlo Fazekas, Malignaggi says he’s thinking of fighting for the European welterweight title. He’s also interested in moving down to the lightweight division to try and make a splash in that weight class.

That would be a major endeavor on Malignaggi’s part because it would involve him losing a lot of weight to get down to the 135lb limit. Even if Malignaggi does make the weight, he could fight himself competing with guys like Mikey Garcia, Dejab Zlaticanin and Terry Flanagan.

Those are fighters that punch well above their weight class. They have welterweight like power. Malignaggi would need to be at his best to mix it with those fighters.

YouTube video

“I knew Bracero was a counter-puncher like myself. I was just trying to be the sharper counter-puncher,” Malignaggi told ESPN.com. “We both try to set traps, and I just wanted to make him earn any points that he got. At the same time, I felt like I had to earn my points. I dictated the fight with pot shots and stepping over. I didn’t want to get desperate. I wanted to force him to get desperate from being behind on the scorecards. I think I did a good job of that.”