By Dan Ambrose: Former IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (28-4, 6 KO’s) will making his second fight at welterweight on April 9th against former lightweight Jose Miguel Cotto (32-2-1, 24 KO’s) on the undercard of the Marcos Maidana vs. Erik Morales fight at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Malignaggi, 30, is hoping to prove all his doubters wrong by beating the 5’5 1/2″ Cotto and then continuing to find success at welterweight.

However, there’s a world’s worth of difference between beating a small 2nd tier welterweight like Cotto, who would probably be much better off moving back down to lightweight, than taking on and trying to beat one of the top welterweight contenders. Malignaggi is going to do well against the lesser welterweights but it’s hard to imagine him finding much success against a quality fighter at that weight. Malignaggi was beaten by WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan last year in an 11th round TKO.

That loss was a signal that Malignaggi’s time as a championship level fighter was about at an end at light welterweight, because his chances against fighters like Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley wouldn’t be good. Malignaggi then moved up in weight and defeated little known Michael Lozado by a 6th round stoppage last year in December. Malignaggi looked great in that fight, but he wasn’t fighting someone who had any chance of beating him.

In a recent interview, Malignaggi said “I’m excited for the challenge and the chance to keep proving naysayers wrong.” Malignaggi, ranked
#12 WBC, #13 IBF in the welterweight division, should be able to beat Cotto. But that victory won’t mean much because Malignaggi is still too small and too weak to be a factor at welterweight. However, he’ll likely serve the purpose as being a gatekeeper or name fighter for champions to beat up every once in awhile without the risk of losing being involved.